Defining Prodigal

I have always thought that the word "prodigal" meant "wayward." This is not the case. According to the dictionary, a prodigal is someone who spends extravagantly, lavishly and abundantly. This spending can be wasteful, or bounteous, depending on whom the prodigal is. In the context of the gospel, God is a prodigal God because he is bountifully extravagant, lavish and abundant with his grace. If you will read Keller's The Prodigal God with me, we are going to discover that in Jesus' parable in Luke 15, "there are two brothers, each of whom represents a different way to be alienated from God, and a different way to seek acceptance into the kingdom of heaven." I'm all ears. 

The Prodigal God

I am reading Tim Keller's new book, The Prodigal God. Yeah, it is quite an intriguing title! Rather than give away the significance of the title yet, I want to encourage you to get the book and read it slowly.  It is a quick read, but deserves lots of attention and meditation.  As far as the purpose of the book, Keller says that it is "meant to lay out the essentials of the Christian message, the gospel." In the introduction, he provides a warning and an encouragement to those of us who may be "familiar" with the message: "One of the signs that you might not grasp the unique, radical nature of gospel is that you are certain you do. Sometimes longtime church members find themselves so struck and turned around be a fresh apprehension of the Christian message that they feel themselves to have been essentially 're-converted." Is that bait enough? :0)