The kids started growing up and well what goes around comes around. My children today are living responsible successful lives, and I am proud of them all. But like most families in their younger years at times, they gave me a run for my money.
I remember one night just getting into bed, tired after a hard days work. From my son’s bedroom I heard cries of distress. I got out of bed and went into his room. During the last several weeks he had been collecting newspapers, and had a pile almost to the ceiling. I asked him what was wrong. He said he had a project to do on the Meech Lake Accord. In those days I had no idea whatsoever what the Meech Lake Accord was. I said OK when is the project due. He said tomorrow morning. We spent all night completing the project. I couldn’t wait to find out my mark. NOT.
Strained relations between parents and teens is as old as the human race. A careful look at the scriptures indicates that there has always been a certain distance between generations. Remember Jacob couldn’t get along with his father, Isaac. Absalom was a horrible grief to David, Both Samuel and Eli had trouble with their sons. These are just a few of many biblical examples.
The universal tendency for strained relations between parents and their young people is what makes Jesus’ story of the prodigal son such a classic.
Bridging the distance that sometimes develops between parents and their young people is a job both generations have to tackle. After all, bridges are built from two sides!
In the story of the prodigal son, both the father and the son had some hard work to do before the vast expanse of loneliness and rejection between them could be overcome. The father’s love for his son had to become strong enough to support the son’s search for himself. He had to love his son enough to let him go. And the son’s love for his father had to grow strong enough to bring him home once he had found himself.
Notice the story carefully! Jesus didn’t pronounce moral judgement on the father or the son. He didn’t say the father was a failure. He didn’t say the son was bad. He simply told their story: a story that’s been repeated again and again throughout the history of the human family, a story that talks about the distance that sometimes develops between generations and how love can bridge it.