Prodigal Parent ProcessSample

The First Prodigal Parent

God opens His scripture with an amazing account of what type of parent He is. He first creates heavens, earth, the animals, trees, and so much more to give His children a great home and environment. 

He created Adam and spent quality time with him as it maybe took months or even years to name the animals. He created Eve and then created marriage, His final masterpiece. 

I think it’s safe to say God was a great father. He created the perfect environment, perfect food, and spent time with His children, talking to them, teaching them, and probably even laughing with them. He was in a good relationship with them, and by all accounts, He would be graded as a perfect parent. 

What’s amazing to me is, after the Creation story, the prodigal story and the prodigal parent story is the first story told about mankind and God. 

I’m sure you’re familiar with Genesis 3 where Eve was asked this question by the devil – “…did God really say…?” She and Adam clearly knew God’s word about eating from “this” tree. This was the only rule they had to follow.

Mankind became a prodigal by first doubting God’s word, then by disbelieving God’s word. The consequences of disobeying God’s word, resulted in Adam and Eve being escorted out of the garden to live a life not based on natural abundance, but one of labor and toil.

It’s really important to recognize that after Adam and Eve sinned, God did not say, 

“I didn’t do enough for you.”

“It’s is my fault you sinned.”  

“What did I do wrong?”

God, as a prodigal parent, did not blame himself for his children or their behaviors.

As human parents, I see many of these parents struggling with the “what if I did _____ differently?” 

This is not what God did. God’s children knew the truth, disobeyed and had to reap the consequences of their choices.

At the time of creation, God had two children and 100 percent of them became prodigals. The rest of the scripture is the story of mankind and God trying to restore this relationship. Thankfully, in Christ, all of us, who were prodigals in one way or another, can find our home in Christ. So even if your prodigal is walking the wrong way, their story is not over.