Article September 29, 1934 Issue

Man's Divine Heritage

ALBERT F. GILMORE

Jesus ' use of parable to drive home a fundamental truth was most effective. He was indeed a master in the skillful use of this figure of speech. Some of the most important of all his teachings were set forth in parables and allegories, both for the effect of these impressive forms of language and, as he said, to keep from those unready to receive them his pearls of truth.

One of the most familiar and most important of his many parables is the appealing story of the prodigal who left his boyhood home of peace and plenty to pursue a riotous and profligate life. Exhausted, wearied by his pursuit of the ways of the flesh, penniless and penitent, he finally returned to his father's house, to be received with open arms by a loving and forgiving parent. The feasting and rejoicing which marked the return of the younger son were so little to the liking of the elder brother that he complained to the father: Had he not been an obedient, home-loving son, yet no festivities were ever prepared for him? No fatted calf was ever provided for a feast for him! In the father's reply is one of the most significant statements, when its spiritual import is considered, that ever issued from the lips of the Nazarene: "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." All that the father possessed had been at the disposal of the obedient son whenever he chose to make use of it, in short, to claim it and make it his own. There had been no lack of supply, no deprivation. All of the father's abundance was his.

The lesson which Jesus conveyed in this appealing parable is of the greatest importance to mortals. The wanderer from the Father's house, the mortal who clings to a material sense of life. and substance, excludes himself from the bounty which the all-loving Father has provided for all His children. Nothing is lacking in His munificent provision for His offspring.

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