"The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller

In reading “The Prodigal God” by Dr. Timothy Keller, I was repeatedly struck with the notion of how important this work is for the life of the church right now. The passage in Luke 15 that it is based on has been misunderstood and misapplied by preachers and readers in the West for several centuries. While there is a great deal of comfort available to us from the notion that the outwardly reckless younger brother, often known as the Prodigal son, there is much, much to be learned from the other two main characters in the parable.

It is the father that lavishes an extravagant love and a forgiveness upon BOTH brothers, who BOTH need his love. It is the elder brother who also needs to repent of his own set of sins which are just as heinous. The elder brother is just as lost as the younger, though in a very different way. The sins of the elder brother are harder to see and in some ways are not all that different from the younger brother’s sins. Both suffer from a deep selfishness, and both show great disrespect to their father. In terms of “outward sins” the younger brother comes across as more fallen, but both come across as needing the father’s love and forgiveness.

The lesson we learn from the father’s love for the elder brother, as well as the direct implication of Christ’s love for His church as the TRUE elder brother, the one we all need, is a large part of the message of this work.
We need to learn to repent of our righteousness as well as our sinfulness, and in opening up this parable to the reader and sharing a lifetime of work and insight, Dr. Keller has given us all an excellent tool to use in our own lives and one that we can give to others, without reservation.

Dr. Keller uses culturally relevant illustrations, and information gleaned from scholars such as Clowney, Luther, Edwards, Lewis, and Lovelace to bolster his work. This is book that all of us can benefit from no matter where we are in our walk with the Lord. This may become a classic work along the lines of “Mere Christianity”, “Knowing God”, and “The Practice of the Presence of God”. [from my review on Amazon.com]