You Are Not an Only Child in the Family of God
What does it really mean to be part of God’s family? The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most well-known stories Jesus ever told, but there is far more in it than a simple tale of a wayward child coming home. It is a story about a Father’s heart, two very different sons, and a question that cuts to the core of how we treat one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
What Is the Parable of the Prodigal Son Really About?
In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a Father with two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance early, leaves home, and wastes everything on reckless living. When a famine hits and he finds himself feeding pigs and longing to eat what they eat, he finally comes to his senses.
He decides to return home, not as a son, but to beg his Father to take Him on as a servant. He rehearses his speech the whole way back.
But something unexpected happens before he even gets close to the house.
What Does the Father’s Response Teach Us About God?
Scripture says in Luke 15:20, “But while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; He ran to his son, threw His arms around him and kissed Him.” (Luke 15:20, New International Version)
In that culture, it was considered shameful for an older man to run. The Father took on that shame willingly. He did not wait for the son to finish his rehearsed speech. He called for servants to bring the best robe, a ring for his finger, sandals for his feet, and ordered the fattened calf to be killed for a feast.
The son said he was no longer worthy to be called a son. The Father’s response was essentially: you will always be my son. You cannot outspend the grace of the Father. Your identity is based on your relationship with Him, not on your rebellion from Him.
Why the Older Son Is the More Cautionary Figure
Most people read this story and think the warning is about the younger son. Do not run off. Do not waste what God has given you. But the older son deserves just as much attention, if not more.
When the older son hears the celebration, he refuses to go in. He is angry. He tells his Father He has served faithfully for years without ever disobeying, yet His Father never threw Him a party. And then he says something revealing. He does not call the younger son his brother. He calls him “this son of yours.”
He is deliberately distancing himself from the relationship. And that is something many of us do too. We would rather sever a relationship than take on the responsibility of actually working on it.
Does Righteousness Give Us the Right to Exclude Others?
The older son believed his track record earned him a higher status. He compared his faithfulness to his brother’s failures and concluded that the celebration was unjust.
But the Father’s response is clear. In Luke 15:31-32, he says, “My son, the Father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:31-32, New International Version)
Notice the Father calls Him “my son” and then refers to the younger as “this brother of yours.” He is calling the older son back into the relationship he has been avoiding. Righteousness does not give anyone the license to exclude others because of their sin. That is not our call. This is not our house. It belongs to the Father.
Both Sons Missed the Heart of the Father
Here is what is easy to overlook. Both sons were focused on what they deserved. The younger said he no longer deserved to be a son, so make him a servant. The older said he had earned more than his brother and deserved recognition for it.
Both were thinking in terms of status and merit. The Father was thinking about relationship.
The Father was not worried about the inheritance. He was worried about his sons knowing who they were and knowing each other as brothers.
The Danger of Living in the Father’s House Without the Father’s Heart
The older son ate at the Father’s table. He worked in the Father’s fields. The Father Himself said everything He had belonged to the older son. And yet the older son did not share the Father’s heart for the lost.
That is the warning. You can spend your whole life in the house of the Father and still miss the heart of the Father.
It is a sobering thought for anyone who has been faithful for years, who shows up every week, who does the right things, but quietly holds resentment toward certain brothers or sisters in Christ.
Who Would Make You Refuse to Go Into the Feast?
Here is the question worth sitting with. Whose presence at the feast would make you hesitate to walk through the door? If you heard the celebration and knew a certain person was inside, would you pause? Would you stay outside?
The Father is pleading for us to come in. He reminds us that we are not an only child in the family of God.
What Does This Mean for How We Gather as a Church?
Every week, Christians gather to worship and to share in the Lord’s Supper. That meal is a remembrance of what Jesus has done, but it is also a celebration of what He is doing among His people right now, making them children of God and siblings to one another.
The person sitting next to you is not just a son or daughter of God. Because they are a son or daughter of God, they are your sibling.
What would it look like to prepare for Sunday not on Sunday morning, but on Saturday night? What if before going to bed, you thought about which brother or sister you could encourage, pray with, or check in on? What if the foyer was filled not with surface-level greetings but with genuine care between siblings?
That kind of gathering would feel like a celebration every single week.
Life Application
This week, identify one person in your church family who you have been keeping at a distance, whether because of past conflict, differences, or simply because you have never made the effort. Reach out to them. Write a note, send a message, or make a point to speak to them on Sunday. Ask how they are doing and mean it. Offer to pray with them.
The Father’s heart is for relationship, both with Him and with your siblings in Christ. Step toward that relationship this week, even if it is uncomfortable.
Ask yourself:
- Do I relate more to the younger son or the older son, and what does that reveal about where my heart is right now?
- Is there someone in my church family whose presence at the feast would make me hesitate to walk in?
- Am I living in the Father’s house while missing the Father’s heart?
- How can I prepare this week to be a better sibling, not just a better son or daughter of God?
The Father is not asking for perfection. He is asking for relationship. With Him, and with one another.