Sibling to the prodigal son

The parable of the wayward son (also known as the parable of the prodigal son) is one most reviewers of scripture are familiar with, wherein a young man has a single sibling, tells his father he wishes all that is his due, leaves the farm for the greener side of the fence, has his eyes opened to the true nature of the world, and returns home, aware of how good he had it and how loved he was.

Let me, instead, point your eyes to the other offspring, our not-front-stage-other-main character. Here is a child who was faithful to father, who stayed at home, who worked the land and did the chores bidden of them, and was sitting in the home to which the prodigal son returned. And this is the same child that felt unappreciated when the father broke into song and dance at the arrival of his younger child. I believe this relationship between siblings is comparable to the relationship men have with women, in particular the difference in responsibilities and authorities between first-born sons and first-born daughters.

I believe that men are called, and should be trained, to be an edifying version of the prodigal son - to be as ready to be in the world (but not of the world) as possible, then strike out. They should be trained to lead in a productive manner, one of the most difficult lessons known to anyone, and to do so with grace. Through that training they gain a practical awareness of just how unbalanced and wicked the world is, and through those trials discover the character traits their father trained them up in, and when they return 'home', it is the home they built for the purpose of marriage. Thus, a newly married man can come home in a way far more profoundly than a single man can. So we have men as iterations of the prodigal son.

I believe that women are called, and should be trained, to be an edifying version of the older sibling - to be as ready to serve in the home as possible, then married out. They should be trained to wait in a productive manner, one of the most difficult lessons known to anyone, and to do so with grace. Through that training they gain a practical awareness of how unbalanced and wicked the world is from the protective confines of the home, and through the efforts at home discover the character traits their mother trained them up in, and when their prodigal son returns home, it is the home built for the purpose of marriage. Thus, a newly married woman can be home in a way far more profoundly than a single woman. So we have women as iterations of the faithful sibling.

There are dangers for each gender, though - the predominant danger of each is to identify too well with the other gender's roles.

I believe men can be led astray by being trained (through false modeling or poor personal habits) into believing that the path they should travel is that of the woman's - where staying at home is the most effective use of their talents. You see many examples of this in popular culture, whether it’s the stay-at-home thirty year olds (who have become a kind of American parable) or the professional gamer who "works" out of parent's basement. The result is a land that cries out for a leader and gets instead someone who visits the skirt and soups of his mother, has been trained to follow when he should be leading, and often will be responsive to events instead instigators. In this way spiritual death can enter the body of Jesus.

I believe women can be led astray by being trained (through false modeling or poor personal habits) into believing that the path they should travel is that of the man's - where leaving home is the most effective use of their talents. You see examples of this too in popular culture, whether its women who leave home to get away from abusive parents or women who leave home because they don't feel loved (sometimes motivated by latching onto some random boy the girl fell in love with). The result is a land that cries out for a healer and steadfast proponent of faithful support and instead gets a rebel who yearns to run free. In this way spiritual death can enter the body of Jesus.

Today's call to action:

Recognize what role you should be playing

One of the most effective ways to inhibit the body of Jesus Christ is if members of that body don't seek God's guidance as to what they should be doing in their various stations. The result is often members that don't work together as effectively as they might, who are easily irritable, who don't have the peace that passes understanding, and into whose relationship strife can easily work itself.

Your challenge is simple:

Pray to God to reveal your daily bread

If we remember from Revelation that John was given a scroll to eat, the result of which was him absorbing some biblical principles and events literally, and we come to that table knowing that bread is assumed to be a food-stuff, we can extend that to understand that today's 'daily bread' can be something other than food - it can be those aspects of scripture we are called to understand and absorb, it can be that aspect of our walk we are finally called to understand, and it can be that aspect of our day that we are finally called to act upon.

So pray to have revealed what God has for you today and remember don't hesitate - go boldly before that throne of grace!