I Want My Share

"I want my share" are words from a son that the father and mother (the mother is not mentioned in the text) had nurtured. From a snotty-nosed kid to a virile young man, they had raised him and no doubt bestowed nothing but the best upon him. The young son's basic needs — food, clothing, and shelter — were all provided for by his parents. He is youthful and inexperienced yet insists on claiming his share of the estate. But what had he accumulated to call his own? He had not been in the world long enough to have accumulated much. Since he was knee-high to a duck, the father had big plans for his young son. He wanted his sons, and surely his elder brother, to be CEOs of the family's business, or internationally recognized evangelists/personalities, or sought-after experts in human affairs—yes, the father had big dreams for his boys. What father doesn't? Dreams for our children are oftentimes bigger than dreams for ourselves. Parents do dream, and when it comes to their children, they dream BIG! The father dreamed of seeing his children reach heights he had not achieved, not just in terms of material wealth, but also in terms of moral, intellectual, social, and spiritual growth. Nevertheless, the father acquiesced and gave the son the desires of his heart. It was the gracious response of a father who had raised an independent being, a sovereign soul, who now wanted to go his own way, to be his own man, and to do his own thing. Like our heavenly Father, this earthly father understood that God has granted humanity free will—a boundary even our heavenly Father will not cross. So, the prodigal’s father divided his living among them.