This is the first time someone has asked me to read and review a book on my blog. My friend, Mary, who last year recommended The Shack, wrote to encourage me to get my hands on this book. It is written by Pastor Timothy Keller, whose first book, The Reason for God, led Newsweek magazine to call him a "C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century."
The title itself intrigued me, because the word "prodigal" so often connotes the idea of wayward living. However, at the outset, Keller informs us that the word means "recklessly spendthrift." In God's grace, He is as prodigal, in a positive way, as the son is, in a negative way.
Although many people focus entirely on the younger son's abandonment of the father and God's unreserved acceptance when he returns, this book identifies two equally lost sons, or two categories of people: 1) moral conformity sons, and 2) self-discovery sons. Keller emphasizes that both sons resented the Father's authority.
I remember hearing the archery definition, where sin is "missing the mark" or anything outside of that narrow goal. Keller deepens this understanding when he states, "sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge just as each son sought to displace the authority of the father in his own life."
As I read this book, I began to recognize characteristics of both lost brothers in myself. I know that for a long time, I lived a life of faithfulness and committed every problem to the Lord's guidance and control. However, there did come a tangible time in my life (when something devastating occurred in my personal life), when I stepped away and said to God, "You know what, this isn't working out any more; I think I'm just going to see if I can find my own way in this."
Indeed, I would even venture to say that the elder-brother responses I observed in fellow church members, helped to send me packing and down the road of younger brother rebellion.
However, I also recognize that I fit Keller's description of the older brother, as well. Keller states, "The first sign you have an elder brother spirit is that when your life doesn't go as you want, you aren't just sorrowful but deeply angry and bitter." That would pretty well characterize my life at one point in time.
I would have said, "I still love the Father and I still recognize His authority, but I'm sure He can handle the fact that I have lots of questions and bitterness over the way things have gone down." Several people attempted to tell me that my bitterness itself was sin against God. At the time, I hesitated to believe this. Looking back, I will readily admit that my bitterness did lead to other sins against God and others.
Keller goes on to say that "the last sign of the elder brother spirit is a lack of assurance of the father's love." This is certainly, where the bitterness-sin path led me. It became very difficult to believe fully in His love for me. I maintained a head knowledge of His love, but I didn't feel a heart knowledge of His love. Still, I did not despair. I merely likened my experience to St. John of the Cross's "dark night of the soul." I don't believe our feelings are adequate indicators of our spiritual state.
The blessed assurance gleaned from Keller's book, is that God loves both of the lost sons equally. He deeply loves individuals who turn to Him and say, in complete confusion, "I don't get it. I have served You faithfully and sought Your wisdom in all matters and yet you have allowed this ... to befall me, or You have failed to defend me (as we often hear in David's own psalms)."
And even this enlightenment went on to sting me inwardly. I make no bones about the fact that I disdain individuals who carry themselves with an air of spiritual arrogance. Those ones who approach a struggling Christian as if they hold all the answers. I began to realize that I could identify with the older brother spirit and yet, didn't want to extend forgiveness for others who I assess to maintain a self-righteous air. Keller urges the reader to show them the same forgiveness God extends.
He acknowledges that many individuals have left the church, often because they have been disappointed by churches filled with elder brothers. But he pegs abandonment of church (leaving the community of believers because of our disillusionment with other Christians) just as strongly. He says, "Staying away from them simply because they have elder brothers is just another form of self-righteousness." This was highly convicting.
In the end, Timothy Keller's primary desire is that his reader (regardless of what category they fall in) recognize the prodigal nature of God's grace and throw off the desire to allow idolatry (putting self on the throne) to keep one from experiencing the fullness of God's open arms. Sadly, in the end of the parable of the lost sons (as Keller calls it), we never see the elder brother accept God's authority or pay the price from his own inheritance towards embracing the errant younger brother. He urges us, with a heart for community, to deal compassionately towards the lost (elder and younger) and rely entirely upon God for a deeper understanding of (as well as the ability to embrace) His infinite, reckless, extravagant grace.
This book is a short (130 pages), easy read and offers new perspectives on a passage of Scripture which many are familiar with. I appreciated the fact that several of Keller's explanations where illustrated by referencing other literature (J.R.R. Tolkien, Flannery O'Connor, John Steinbeck, C.S. Lewis, Elizabeth Elliot and even the movie, "The Witness"). I know that some question an author's Biblical allegiance if they reference other works. If you would rather listen to Keller's ideas, you can visit his website and listen to six sermons preached on this passage. I imagine most of the ideas in the book are covered in the sermons. If you've already read the book, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what your opinion was (or what enlightenment you gleaned).
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