The Painted GospelsSample

The Prodigal

The universal appeal of this painting has made it a favorite among artist Ron Dicianni’s admirers. This scene, of a “father” accepting his son “just as he is,” happens everyday. God the Father is the same toward us. 

Luke 15:17 says this of the son’s attitude in the Prodigal story. It records him as “coming to his senses ...” in finally returning to his father. Have you come to your senses? Have you recognized that there is a God, and it’s not you? Has there been a time when a heavenly tug so gripped your heart that it was unmistakably that God was trying to show you His ultimate love through the gift of His Son? If the answer is “yes”, then what was your response? If you haven’t answered that tug yet, then today could be your day. A simple recognition of your inability to stand before a righteous God, and a prayer to God to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord, is all that’s needed. Then you will really understand this painting.

Ron purposely put the son kneeling in repentance, in modern day clothes, while the “Father”, representing God, is in Biblical attire. Their embrace causes the sun behind them to cast a shadow of a cross on the ground. The work of Jesus on the cross is the one and only vehicle to The Father. The sun is setting, symbolizing the lateness of time. The wheat fields symbolize the harvest Jesus talked about in John 4:35. The houses up on the hilltop represent a time period neither biblical nor modern, but somewhere in between; again referring to the “dateless” significance of this moment. A servant is running down the road holding a new change of clothes for the returning son. Lastly, the sun is in the shape of a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. The clouds at each end are forming open arms, which is still the attitude of God waiting for you, and your neighbor.