14 July 2025

The Parable of the Prodigal Son says some interesting things about parenting. If I were asked, ‘What should characterise a home with children?’ I would say, ‘Parents who wait.’ Too many parents want their child to walk, talk, count, skate, sit exams before their time and do not wait for their unexpected blossoming.

Waiting is a discipline which is best learnt early because it becomes even more important when children become teenagers and even more so when teenagers become adults. Waiting is an art. It requires strength and courage not to intrude but to wait. For ‘God makes everything beautiful in his time.’ says Ecclesiastes.

For some, my second answer would be their first but I think it is contained in the waiting. Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Gospel and at the heart of a Christian home. While the prodigal son  was still far off, the father ran to embrace him and didn’t allow his son to finish his confession.

We travelled to St. Petersburg to see Rembrandt’s painting, ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’. In it, the father does not run, his huge hands cover his younger son’s threadbare back. No one could have painted this without waiting nor experiencing the need for mercy.

Every Christian home should have a lightness of touch, a willingness to come and go, a joy in living, loving and laughing. Joy characterises the father’s home. He marks the younger son’s homecoming with a feast. It is a  joyful event. And events don’t need to be so significant to celebrate together joyfully.

‘There is no greater sign of holiness than the procuring and rejoicing in another’s good.’ said George Herbert. In seeking and rejoicing in the good of another, we stand on holy ground and through encouraging words and actions, we give life to those whom we love.