Parable of the Lost Son

The parable of the prodigal son is undoubtedly one of the best known and most beloved in the Scriptures, and it's directly related to forbearance. In the story, a father has two sons, one of whom wants to leave home, so the son asks for his portion of the inheritance. The son wastes the entire fortune and lives in poverty for some time, when he decides to return home and ask his father to make him one of his servants. When the father spots him, he immediately forgives him and restores him to his proper place in the family, beginning with the celebration of a grand feast.

Of course, the parable is about more than a father and his sons, it's about God and us children. The parable shows God's unfailing love and devotion for us, in which He is willing to forget the past and welcome each one of us anew into His household. If God will do this for us, are we willing to do the same for our brothers?

For human beings practicing forbearance may be difficult, but it is something that we are in desperate need of in today's world. Forbearance increases the bond of brotherhood among men, this can be said without doubt. To let your fellowman off the hook for a wrong that was done to you, or simply to show charity and good will without recompense, tends to veer away from human nature. Yes, to be forbearing is not in the law of nature, but, as human beings, we are certainly capable of much more than that. If we are to say we are made in the image of a loving Creator, much more is expected of us, as we are called into service under the law of God. Certainly each one of us is capable, as the burden is light, but why do we fail?

We fail because we backslide into our fallen nature, as opposed to our nature in the Spirit. We need to rearrange our priorities and shine as a light in a dark world. We need to surround ourselves with constant reinforcement of the values with which we want to live. We've lost the spirit of our forefathers, as when they arrived on the shores of Massachusetts, to live in freedom in the purity and simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the same spirit that built the America we've inherited. An America from which we've been drawing down the principle without replacing what we've taken.

We've got to do a better job of teaching our sons and daughters the values that our forefathers transferred to us. We have a duty to our God and our nation to ensure that the transmission of the faith and values of our fathers is bequeathed to our posterity. To accomplish this, our values must permeate society at all levels, and they need to be expected from all people at all times and in all places. At a time when our civic institutions seem to be at war with the people they serve, replacing the values of our fathers with the pursuit of pleasure at all costs, we need to persevere as the salt and light of the world. We need to reclaim ownership of our civic institutions, and have them reflect the values that we want to impress on our children.

To start, we need to put local neighborhoods back in charge of our public schools, and parents more rights over the affairs of their children's education. We need to rediscover the faith and values of our forefathers, follow them consistently, and celebrate them always and everywhere. As citizens, it is more than a suggestion; it is patriotic duty to ensure that our nation is a righteous and just nation, and that our children grow up in a land where we can be proud to call ourselves Americans.

So, starting today, let us rededicate ourselves to practicing forbearance, love and charity with our neighbors, even those with whom we have had disagreements in the past. Let us begin the process of reclaiming our civic institutions for the purposes of infusing our whole society with the values of forbearance, love and charity. Then we will be able to say that we are Americans and we are sons of the Most High.

"... it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other ..."
(Constitution of Virginia, Article I, Section 16)