Summary and response paper to The Prodigal God Book
Almost everybody has the knowledge and is well conversant with the story in the bible about the prodigal son.it was a parable given out by Jesus. Quite a number of people have got comfort in the parables moral that is about the free forgiveness granted to the repentant prodigals. The prodigals had consumed their lives with misuse living. But, we could ask ourselves if that is the whole point of that story. Keller in his book argues that Jesus’ parable as he sees it is more properly a tale of two sons who are lost, the loving father providing a prodigal grace. The father is willing to invite both the lost children to his feast of joy. Keller again states that when the parable story is understood in a way that he tries to explain then, the perception of true Christianity will change many.
Timothy Keller, the author of the book titled ‘the prodigal God’ attempts to lay out the crucial of the Christian message. That is the gospel, and to get right into the hearts of the Christian faith (p. 7). The act is seen in the first page of the book. Timothy’s book is not just for seekers but rather for those lifelong believers who think that they fully understand the basics that make up the Christian faith. In this book, Keller gets the readers to know that the book is not original. He puts the message clear that all that he writes in the book was once first preached by Dr. Edmund Clowney (pgs. 12&15). A fresh and new take on the parable of the Prodigal son, is what came to change the life of Keller. It again began to change his ministry in so many ways. In a span of many years, Keller has been teaching from this parable, and he tells us that he teaches in the parable both at his church and elsewhere. The author states that he has seen Gods’ hand and has received many blessings in the message. And here finally he decides to put it in the form of a short book for many people to have access to the book (P.110).
Even though the parable of the prodigal son that was told by Jesus has always been retold, People understand it as a story with only one main character who is the squandering and selfish prodigal son. According to the parable, he consumed the stories of his father and then found himself finished in the end. He returns home to get a surprising grace from his father. The parable was mainly directed to the Pharisees and all the religious leaders of today. The parable also contained in it a very emotional message for the leaders of religion (p. 115). The character of an older brother in this parable is always being overlooked. The actual heart of the gospel of Jesus message in all its astonishing richness always shines. It is a message that is equally necessary for both the puritans as well as the prodigals alike.
Keller begins simply by introducing the reader to that sense of the original audience that Jesus had during the time that he was teaching the parable of the prodigal son. At that moment, there were two groups around him. The groups were tax collectors and the sinners and the other consisted of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law (p.126). According to the parable, the tax collectors, and the sinners corresponds the younger brother. They are those who engaged in what others would consider wild living for they abandoned their traditional morality. Apart from them, the Pharisees and the religious leaders were represented by the older brother. They are the ones who are the morals and the obedient people who have never left their tradition of their culture and the religion. The first group seeks God in a self-discovery method. The second panel in the parable then asks the Lord through some moral conformity. The message that was being passed by Jesus to the group was that, both of those approaches that the groups used was not in order and not correct. Keller offers his radical alternative from this point. One has two ways to be his personal Savior and Lord (p. 145). One of the ways that can happen is by breaking all the laws setting personal course.
Keller tries to explain two types of people: there are those who, like a younger brother who is quoted in the parable, have become disillusioned with the religion as well as the hypocrisy. They have rebelled against the traditional morality as well as the authority. Then there is this second group, those who, like the elder brother, have decided to dedicate their lives to be respected, traditional and remain moral. They take to be the community heroes and the religious leaders. What is much surprising is that when you get to the inside, both of these much different groups of people are the same. They are both considered to be rebels who have no love for their father. They try to manipulate their dad. They do this whether through the blatant disrespect or rather a grudge duty. They do this in order to get their parents things, and they do this without any concern for enjoying their fathers’ fellowship (p. 154).
In response to both of the fathers rebel sons, the father, whom Keller says represents God the father, gives out as a sacrifice and prodigally. The father gave out everything without even requesting for anything in exchange. Their father admonishes both of his sons to come to the feast that his love has prepared for them. The younger son who indeed saw his unworthiness also manages to come to the feast. The older brother who represents the religious leaders to whom in the proverb Jesus was speaking well, Jesus leaves his last word not clear. Keller says this shows that Jesus meant to them that the invitation by God has been given even to them (p. 225).
Jesus left them with a subtle of something else. It appears as the last of the stories that he has told the Pharisees and here, Jesus talks of the older brother who should go out to look for his younger brother but remains resentful (p. 232). He asks where the real elder brother who can sacrifice himself willingly is so as to bring his younger brother back to their fathers feast. To Keller, the parable crystalizes Jesus’ heart gospel very clear. Keller says he may be right because whether one is moral, conservative or respectable. But you are looking at the wickedness of other people and you don’t act, then you are in the same need of the grace of the prodigal God. God will forgive you and satisfy your deeper needs of festal fellowship with Himself. He concludes by saying that the invitation has been made, and the father is calling everyone to his feast .whether you are the younger brother, or an older brother and asks what you will do (p. 256).
Tim Keller to me has a way of conveying powerful theological information in a much simple and understandable language. A lot of evidence is seen in the prodigal god. He principally weaves together contemporary commentary stories in the bible. It makes the readers of his book come to face the biblical truth that are centered in the proverbs and their applications as well.
The books designation comes from the picture of God and the reckless extravagance of God’s grace. Keller has made me learn to put the parable in the historical manner and give it cultural details that brighten it. He has made me believe that people miss the point of the famous parable of Jesus. The elder brother is not given attention by many and hence I have departed from the typical interpretation of the parable and have decided to focus more on the elder brother than the younger son. Keller shows how the word of God shatters the two categories. He shows us much a lot and focuses on the amazing grace of Jesus who is trying to bring everybody back home, to the father (pg. 234).
Keller teaches us that much in his writing of the book, we should repent not only of our sins, but also for the righteousness. From his teaching, I am not trying to live a righteous life as a means of becoming my savior, and this is an application that I take. The manuscript has also encouraged me to search for those who are running away from God so that I can bring them back to the father for the feast. We come to learn from the parable that God is always enthusiastic to absolve those who repent and receive those who wander from him. It is evident that someone who imposes himself morality is not the same as actually following Christ and that we should stop that (pg. 247).
I have learned, and I put to an application of searching my heart to see if there could be an inner faith that goes along with the outward conformity. The challenge that is given to the Christians is that the churches tend to be heavens for the older brother kind of a believer. The teachings are a recounting of a story that never grows old. As noted, Keller is portraying a gospel message and an encouragement for everyone not to be like the younger son who turns back to the loving father despite his love. In the overall then, I come to realize the importance of the prodigal son, and in Jesus himself, becomes evident; when one gets its message correctly, you grasp it that God actually loves you. When the reality gets into you then, it changes everything, and this has changed Timothy Keller and has changed me as well.
Work Cited
Keller, Timothy. the prodigal God. london: Hodder & Stoughton, 2009. Pp. 1-300
