Son or hired hand?

"Father, I have sinned... make me like one of your hired hands" (Luke 15:18, 19)
Not until the prodigal son felt very hungry in the far country, not until he was certain that no one could satisfy him, not until he came to himself, did he begin to think rightly, and remind himself that in his father's house "there is bread enough," and only then did he decide, "I will arise and go to my father," that is, only then did he begin to turn to God.

But why did the son not just return to his father? And why did he declare that he would say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you"? This means that he is now ready to take the place of the lost sinner before God. This is repentance. “And I will say to him, … I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired servants.” Here we see the son still a lawyer.

He has not yet learned the wonderful grace of God, which does not suffice to meet his deepest need. This is shown when the most that the mind of the prodigal son can imagine and desire is to become one of the “hired servants.” How legalistic the mind of man is! How insistent it is on what it can do! How it argues about the necessity of doing its own works! For a “hired servant” to get anything, he must work. But blessed be the name of the Lord! In His grace He perseveres with us until our mind is enlightened, our enmity is gone, our will is subdued, and we rise and go to Him.

My dear 

Do you know what the “prodigal son” was waiting for according to the law? In Deuteronomy 21:18-21 we see God’s hand fall in just judgment on the rebellious son, but in Luke 15 we see God’s heart overflowing with compassion and pity for the poor repentant, assuring him that His greatest pleasure is to receive the lost back to Him. The repentant who returns will not be met with stones of judgment but with kisses of love. What a wonderful grace! What a richness! What a sublime one!

By Arthur Bank