The Prodigal

Perhaps the most difficult challenge we face is letting the prodigal go. We feel, perhaps, as if their rejection--or at least devaluation--of all we hold dear is somehow our fault. Or maybe we feel that the only way they will ever come back to--or embrace--the God we love and embrace is through our intervention. We may feel that restoration is impossible without us. It maybe--if we are perfectly honest--that we are concerned about how their decision might reflect on what people think of us. And we naturally worry about how their choices will impact their life. We know from our own experiences the danger of consequences. A mixture of all of these thoughts are probably the cause for our concerns.
And yet, the best--the most loving thing--the father did for the prodigal was let him go. If he had not let him go, he would never have come to his senses. He would have spent his entire life complaining about the father's attempts to control him, chaffing under the father's values, antagonistic toward the father's love, and unable to discern that the father loved him all along. Was it easy for the father to let him go? Not for a second. He spent every day looking down the road to see if his son was coming home. But he believed that he would be home some day. He had let his son go and let God have him. He had provided his son with all the earthly resources he would need to reach "rock bottom." But he believed that when his son reached there, it would dawn on him that having everything without a relationship with the father was worthless--any relationship, even that of a servant.
Now, the story of the prodigal son in the Bible had a "happy ending." I don't think that's a guarantee with every prodigal. I do know that if we don't let them go, if we don't turn them over completely to God, there is little chance that they will embrace the truths about our God and Savior that they are resisting or denying. We are not at fault for their choices. They are old enough to be responsible for their own decisions. We are not necessary for their restoration. God doesn't need us to get to their hearts. In fact, we may be in the way. We must be willing to accept the consequences that God will bring into their life in order to bring them back to Him. Whatever that may be, they are not as horrible as His not bringing them back to Him would be. And we must remember that "letting go" does not mean that we quit standing at the door ready to embrace and celebrate their return without the slightest hint of "I told you so" on our lips. Love needs no defense or justification. It can stand on its own merits.
Love says, "I will let you go." Love says, "I will give you completely into the hands of Eternal Love." Love says, "I will be waiting at the door ready to celebrate if you ever decide to return." Love says, "I will be waiting at the door ready to celebrate even if you never come home."