Stories Jesus Told

He is Coming This blog is about Christianity and the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

There are several points about the story of the Prodigal Son that would be significant for a Muslim. Inheritance is given when the father dies. Therefore, to ask for the inheritance is the same as wanting the father to die and is, therefore, a dishonorable act. When a child dishonors the family, this child is usually cast out of the family and treated as dead. A human father would refuse to receive again a child who had dishonored the family. Therefore, most Muslims would see the father’s action in this story as humiliating and degrading both for himself and for the family. To them the son has disgraced the family and should not be welcomed again into the family circle. The contrast between the actions of human father and the actions of our Heavenly Father has a powerful impact on the Muslim.

The new Christian would be aware of these cultural factors in her family background. Therefore, these stories of repentance and consequent rejoicing by God would be an important contrast to her own experience with her family and culture. She would have learned as a small child not to admit wrongdoing in order to avoid the disgrace that would come as a result of public admission of fault. Through the teachings of Jesus, she learns that God expects and rejoices when a different behavior is learned and practiced. These stories emphasize the importance of repentance.

The new Christian would also need to learn that God already knows her attitudes and actions. Through previous studies she would have learned that sin leads to a broken relationship with God. Repentance is necessary in order to restore the relationship. As she studies these stories, help her to understand that God truly wants the relationship with her and that rejoicing does occur when that happens.

Posted in: Producing Mature Fruit