Book Review: The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
Prodigal means recklessly extravagant or having spent everything.
Tim Keller’s newest book is my first book to read in 2009. This book retells the story that Jesus Christ told in Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 of the Prodigal or Lost Son. Through Keller’s exposition, he suggests it should be called the Parable of the Two Lost Sons.
He draws out the sins of both sons and the forgiveness of the father to each son, both undeserving in their rebellion. The younger son has always gotten the most attention, but as Keller unfolded the story for me, it wasn’t long and I realized that the elder brother’s story is familiar to me. The elder brother was proud, religious, and jealous. Instead of celebrating his brother’s return or even going after him in the first place, he angrily rejected his dad and repentant brother.
To both the rebellious swanderer of his blessing and the religious resentful son, the dad gives forgiveness freely and lavishes affection on both sons. The moral son (the good son) was just as evil as the son who ran away to waste all his inheritance.
Religious people categorize people into “good people” and “bad people”. And, they always think that they are “good,” deserve wealth, power, love, forgiveness, etc. The elder brother stood in opposition to the grace the father was giving and with a hard heart missed the gift God was giving their family or reconcilation through repentance! Wow!
“The father also goes out to the angry, resentful elder brother, begging him to come to the feast. This picture is like a double-edged sword. It shows that even the most religious and moral people need the intiating grace of God, that they are just as lost; and it shows that there is hope, yes, even for the Pharisees. This last plea from the father is particularly amazing when we remember Jesus’ audience. He is addressing the religious leaders who are going to hand him over to the Roman authorities to be executed. Yet in the story the elder brother gets not a harsh condemnation but a loving plea to turn from his anger and self-righteousness. Jesus is pleading in love with his deadliest enemies” – page 74
For me, I realized how easily I compare my sin to others sins. Those occassions for me are self-righteous. Any time that I use someone else’s sin, I am either on the side of condemnation or of self-righteous. As God spoke tenderly to me thru this parable, I am truly thankful that though my sin is great, I am forgiven.
God is EXTRAVAGANT with his grace and love for me.
Romans 5: 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Furthermore, my knowledge of God as father is taking more shape. I am trying to grasp the passion of knowing God is father and runs out to me, pursues me like a dad, conquering my enemies, and wiping tears from my eyes. I am sure that the rest of my life will be a series of attaining this belief.
God has recklessly spent everything on me. His life.
#1 Posted by Brittany Thrower 
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