The Baby Brother
He was ten years old when a baby brother was born. Everybody loved the baby, especially him. At fifteen, he took his little brother everywhere. A few years later the twenty-year-old would rush home from work to toss a ball with the ten-year-old. When he was twenty-five, he spent most evenings talking to his teenage brother. These brothers had a special bond.
A day came when the younger brother decided to leave home. The boy demanded that the father give him his “inheritance.” Taking the money, he left. The father was brokenhearted, and the big brother was devastated. It felt as if their lives had been shattered into a thousand pieces.
Years passed. They heard nothing from the young man. Was he alive? No one knew. But the old man never gave up hope. Every day He watched, hoping to see his baby boy come home. But filled with resentment, the older brother’s broken heart became callous. He didn’t care if his brother ever came home or if he still lived.
Finally, the father’s prayers were answered. One day the old man saw a ragged figure walking up the road. With tears in his eyes, he ran to meet his baby boy. He hugged and kissed his son. After having him cleaned up he gave him new clothes. Then they had a party.
The oldest son was coming home from work when he heard the celebration. He went ballistic. Screaming at his father he said, “This son of yours broke our hearts and wasted your money. Now you are throwing a party for him!”
Once again, the old man’s heart was broken. Looking into the hard eyes of his oldest son he said, “Your brother has come home. Don’t you remember how much you used to love him? He was lost but now he is found. He was dead but now he is alive. This party is not for him, it’s for me. I rejoice because I can once again look upon my precious son’s face.”
So, how does this story end? I don’t know. The fact is even Jesus left the story of the Prodigal Son open-ended. Maybe He wanted you to write the ending for yourself. So, I will do the same. I will end by saying, I hope you never let a broken heart become so cold and calloused that the embers of love cannot be rekindled.
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“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”
Luke 15:20-32 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.15.32.NKJV
Douglas & Deborah Huff
From Down Where the Pavement Ends
email-pavementendsministry@gmail.com
