A new spin on an old parable

A new spin on the parable of the prodigal son 

by Jimmy Henderson 

Hons BA (phil) (MA Psychology) FRC

An old man told me the story of a younger son who was dissatisfied with the life provided by his father and decided to leave home. 

After a long while of wandering, he had exhausted his resources and ended up in a cesspool of debauchery and humiliation in which he suffered greatly. 

However, The father, who was very wise and knowing of his suffering, sent his elder brother to fetch him and bring him home. The elder brother found the younger in a dark and filthy pit, wallowing in despair. Himself entering into this thoroughly unpleasant place, the elder lifted up his brother, who had long since forgotten the home from which he came. When he again came to realise who he really was and what he had done, the younger son wept both with tears of regret and joy, that his father was calling him home. 

The eldest placed the youngest on the road and accompanied him home to their father. However, the journey was still long and not easy. Many dangers and obstacles still lay in his way. 

In his mind he could now see his father waiting for him to complete his journey home and this gave him the strength to continue. And he now realised that he was, and always would be, a beloved son of the father and nothing could separate him this knowledge and his father’s love. 

In fact, it had been his misguided wish to separate from his father that had caused him to leave home and enter the world of suffering. He had been misled and had not known that having knowledge of good and evil would involve having to experience loneliness, pain and suffering. Along the way, he cried aloud “Thank you Father, that I can at last see the purpose of this human drama and pain. That which at first seemed so meaningless,  has now been woven into the universal tapestry of the unfoldment of your Being.

Jimmy is a philosopher and metaphysician who is the published author of a number of books on mind and spirit. His books are available through his website www.jimmyhendersonbooks.com.