¹¹Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

My study Bible tells me that it wasn't commonplace for a father to disperse an inheritance like this.  I think this could be the equivalent of the free will God gives us. 

¹³"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

Why a "distant country"?  You know why- he didn't want Dad slipping up on him while he was living the wild life.  The young man wanted freedom from all of the restrictions he had at home, and the best way to achieve that was to move far away.

 ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

    ¹⁷"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

It's funny how we can come back to our senses when hunger becomes our constant companion.

¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 

This may be the only redeeming moment in the prodigal's life to this point.  He owed up to what he had done, and didn't try to make any excuses.  He was ready to give his father a heartfelt apology, and he asked for nothing more than to be treated like one of his father's employees. 

    ²⁰So he got up and went to his father.  "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

    ²¹"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

It appears that the son didn't have time to say, "make me like one of your hired men" before the father responded:

    ²²"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

It seems to me like all we have to do is make an honest effort to move toward God, and he will certainly come through like the loving and kind father he is.  That's reassuring.

We've heard the story of the wonderful reunion each time this Scripture is preached, but have you ever wondered why the father never went out looking for the boy?  Again, if the boy represents us, and the father represents God, the full implication of free will is once again revealed. 

    ²⁵"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

    ²⁸"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

    ³¹" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.

When Swindoll gets to this part, it seems that he'd like to beat up the older son.  I, on the other hand, would like to give the older son a hug.  I suppose that would make me  Swindoll's enemy, and that's fine.  What the older son represents to me is the Christian who is trying to live a disciplined life.  He's never asked for anything, probably because he understands his duty to his father.  Imagine for a moment when his little brother asked their father for his inheritance.  The older brother might have tried to talk some sense to him, but perhaps the younger wanted nothing but "freedom".  The passage tells us that the older brother had been "slaving" for years, so it stands to reason that both brothers had to work hard for their father.  Isn't is reasonable to assume that the absence of the younger brother increased the workload for the elder brother?  May I go out on a limb and try to draw a parallel here?  Perhaps the older brother represents the serious, disciplined Christian.  Conversely, the younger brother may represent the "carnal", nominal Christian.  Do both share in the same inheritance?  Certainly, if they're true sons.  Is it reasonable for the older brother or the disciplined Christian to struggle with nominal Christians within the church?  I think so, but I must also note that most disciplined Christians didn't become that way overnight.  The road to true Christianity is a long one, with many trials and tribulations along the way. 

That the father didn't go out looking for the younger son is telling, I think.  Would the reunion have been as special if the father had to go and convince his son to return?  Of course not- the father's happiness was based on the fact that the son returned on his own.  What if the son had returned and had begun to negotiate with his father?  "Look Dad, I'll consider coming back home if you give me some special perks.  And although I lost the inheritance you gave me earlier, I'll want to be awarded a future inheritance as well."  How would the father have felt?  I'd guess he'd have been pretty angry.  God is angry with rebellious Christians that want to dictate the rules to him, rather than vice-versa. 

Chuck Swindoll can call me a heretic and a legalist, and maybe I am.  I believe there are two very distinct camps among the modern Christian church.  There are the "all grace", "easy believists" that abuse and trample upon the wonderful Grace God extended through his Son, Jesus Christ.  And then there are the "legalists", "enemies of Grace", as we're often called, that appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ enough that we're concerned about living up to our end of the bargain.  "You can't be good enough!", the easy-believists shout, and they're absolutely right, we can't be good enough.  We can, however, be bad enough to abort the Grace extended to us by a loving God.  The prodigal son had to do more than just show back up at the homestead.  He also had to come back, hat-in-hand, fully expecting his father to not allow him back as a son.  All the young man wanted was to be treated like one of his father's hired men.  That's the same attitude we should go to God with: We shouldn't expect anything, yet many "prosperity preachers" like Ken Copeland would have us believe that God owes us something.  God owes us something, all right.  He owes us exile from his love if we don't wake up and comply with his wishes.  Is that hard to understand?