21 Days of Filiation: God, Family & Churchናሙና

THE IDEAL SON

The "ideal" son is also found in the parable of the prodigal son. In the story, properly speaking, the ideal son opposes the rebellious and religious one. Both sons suffered from orphanhood, but Jesus Himself, in telling the story, lets it be understood that He Himself would be the ideal son.

When He is baptized, the Father says, "This is my beloved son!" This shows that Jesus is the perfect kind of reference on sonship. Jesus is the ultimate example of sonship we should hold as our standard and practice. The ideal son is Jesus! He had a life of solitude, where He constantly sought to relate to His Father. He spared no effort to do so. The Bible says that Jesus was serious about living in secret with His Father. That is why He Himself encouraged the practice of secrecy and even said that whoever did it would be rewarded by the Father. The ideal son is close, intimate, obedient, and knows how to honor and respect the Father's legacy.

There are so many stimuli for us to act out of pride, but we can only defend ourselves against it if we decide to be sheep of the Lord's fold. No wonder that before the story of the prodigal son, in Luke 15, comes the story of the lost sheep. A lost son walks on two destructive extremes ─ rebellion or religiosity. Escape from all that, develop your heart as a son, and don't allow anything or anyone to distance you from the arms of the Father.