Luke 15:11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me"... 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
These passages of scripture give us some useful insights into dealing with, and reclaiming a wayward child, which is a situation that many, even among Christian parents have to address. The younger son in this parable could not wait to mature properly first before requesting that he leave home and family, and his eagerness to depart is manifested in the distance that was travelled to be as far away as possible from his parents, so that they would not have any time or opportunity to meddle in his affairs. This hatred of parental restraint often causes untold and numerous problems for the son or daughter in question, and as parents we must be extremely careful in alleviating the needed medicine too prematurely.
This is one of the very important lessons in dealing with a wayward child, for if the father in the parable were to bring deliverance at every beck and call of the prodigal son, he would never learn his lesson, and would continue to view his parents as a sort of back up plan, every time when he would do foolishly or spend wantonly on girls and riotous living. But although the father in the parable must have had some premonition that his young son had fallen on hard times, yet he restrained himself, and did not prevent the son from hitting rock bottom, for whenever children fall into dire straits on account of having their own way, we do them great disservice if we prevent the important lessons of life from running their full course if they insist on having their own way.
Mothers are especially prone to make ill-advised moves in situations such as these, for their tender hearts are touched with pity for the erring child, and it's often the case that parental impulses override good common sense, and the learning process is sometimes stopped dead in its tracks. The husks that the prodigal son would fain eat, and the grueling labor in the hot eastern sun, was a vital part of the process of him coming to his senses, for when he compared himself to where he was previously, and where he was presently, he was able to reason clearly from cause to effect, and this was the triggering mechanism for him deciding to return home. Let's read:
Luke 15:16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 20 And he arose, and came to his father"......
However, the parable does not stop here, for there are other lessons for parents to learn and adopt, especially when wayward children have finally come to their senses, for at this time every effort must be made in good faith to get the wanderer back on his feet again. At times it may even become necessary to go over and beyond in providing financial and material support, but as Christian parents, we should be willing to spend and be spent, so that our children can have an opportunity at the immortal inheritance, and therefore, just as Christ dealt patiently with our own faults and shortcomings, just so should we deal patiently and kindly with our children, who may have wandered far from the fold.
Let us therefore seek to emulate Christ in our dealings with wayward children, for Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost, and as Christians, we should also follow in His footsteps. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms this sacred truth, and it is the will of God that sensible efforts be made to retrieve those who have gone astray. Let's read:
Luke 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!