There was a widow who had two sons. The younger one said to his mother, “Let’s stop pretending like we’re a happy family. Admit it. We’re dead to each other. Why don’t you just give me my inheritance now so we can be done with each other forever?” The mother was the founder and CEO of a successful business with a significant ownership position, so she gave each son half of her stake in the company. The board of directors called an emergency meeting to elect a new CEO after her rash decision, but the board narrowly decided to keep her on as CEO after her oldest son made a passionate plea to retain her.
Not long after that, the younger son took the company jet to a coastal haven for the rich and powerful where he wasted his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything and maxed out his credit cards, there was a depression that affected the entire country, and he began to be in need. His “friends” disappeared along with his money. So he went and got a job at the only place that would hire him – the sewer authority. The work was exhausting and disgusting, and it hardly paid enough to meet his basic needs. Despite the regular income, he became homeless because he couldn’t afford to make his rent payments. He was perpetually hungry and seldom had a good night’s sleep as he struggled to survive.
When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my mother’s entry-level employees have food and money spare, and here I am homeless and starving to death! I will go back to my mother and say: Mom, I was wrong to treat you as I did. I’m sorry for the way I talked to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; would you please take me back as an entry-level employee?” Eventually he was able to save enough money for a common carrier flight home and went to see his mother.
When he was a couple of blocks from the corporate headquarters, his mother saw him as she was exiting the building and was filled with compassion for him; she ran to her son with tears streaming down her face, threw her arms around him, and kissed him repeatedly.
The son said to her, “Mom, I was wrong to treat you as I did. I’m sorry for the way I talked to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; would you please take me back as an entry-level employee?”
But the mother hurried him into the lobby and said to her executive assistant, “Quick! Help my son get cleaned up and get him a new suit. Give him a new photo ID and security clearance. Call the caterer! We’re going to have a party!” She instructed all of her vice presidents at all of the corporate offices and operations centers to end business early and throw parties for their staff and customers sparing no expense. “My son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” So the employees began to celebrate all around the world. While he was happy to be received so warmly by his mother, the son was also very confused and felt extremely sheepish as everyone welcomed him back with genuine excitement, smiles, and hugs.
Shortly after this, the older son returned to the office after closing the biggest deal of his career. As he made his way to his office, he heard music, smelled food, and even saw some of the vice presidents dancing like maniacs in a glass-walled conference room. So he asked his mother’s executive assistant what was going on. “Your brother has come back,” she replied, “and your mother has ended the work day and shut down global operations to throw a company-wide celebration because she has him back safe and sound!”
The older brother turned red with anger, refused to join the party, and stormed out of the building. The executive assistant rushed to the celebrating CEO and told her what had happened. Before she could offer to help find him, the mother took off her heels and ran out of the building. She called after him, but he walked even faster in the other direction. Eventually she caught up with him leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind her. She pleaded with him to come back. But he answered his mother, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders! I begged the board to keep you on as CEO when they wanted to fire you! I just closed the biggest deal in the company’s history, but you’ve never thrown me a party for anything I’ve done! But when this son of yours who has blown your hard-earned money on drugs, gambling, and whores comes home, you celebrate like he’s a conquering hero!”
“Son,” the mother said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because your brother was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!”
The executive assistant who witnessed this entire series of events had been hired when she was a poor single mother without any qualifications. She had watched the boys’ mother lavish love upon them all of their lives. She felt deep gratitude having known the warmth of her boss’s love and kindness from the moment she offered her a job in her time of desperation. Her heart broke for the two precious children who did not know their own mother at all.
Secrets of the Story
This story will be familiar to those who know the story commonly referred to as the “Lost” or “Prodigal Son” as told by Jesus in Luke 15: 11-23. In this retelling, I wanted to portray the parent as a loving mother who gave birth to her children and nursed them as babies.
I also wanted to retell the story in a way that was more contemporary and urban for people today. For example, most kids in the West today don’t get young goats from their parents to celebrate with their friends – at least I never did (and I even grew up on a farm!).
I also wanted to highlight the most surprising aspect of the story (to me) – that children could live their entire lives with their loving mother and still not know her at all.
The younger son didn’t know how much his mother loved him when he asked for his inheritance, nor when he came back with a scripted plan to get back in his mother’s good graces. He was actually surprised by the reception he received, indicating that he did not know his mother’s heart.
The older son did not know how much his mother loved him even though he thought he had been faithful to his mother his whole life. He was not happy about his brother’s return and felt cheated that his loyalty had not been appropriately rewarded and that his brother’s selfishness and infidelity had been completely forgotten.
This story points to the truth that each of us is the precious child of our Divine Parent. Even though we have lived our lives in the light of our Heavenly Parent’s Love, most of us are completely oblivious to it and ignorant of God’s care which is greater than that which the most loving human mother can ever give to her beloved children.
Another powerful story, Bill, and true to life on both the physical and spiritual level. Quite often in our younger years, we don’t appreciate our parents’ love, care and all that they have done for us in bringing us up and providing for our needs and even desires. We can just take it for granted. In a similar way, we may be oblivious of God’s Love and the many blessings that our Heavenly Parent showers on us.
So true, Eva! I definitely have come to appreciate my biological parents and my Spiritual Parent more and more as I have gotten older!
An ancient to modernized story to quiz one’s mind to wonder if I could have such love under those spoiled character conditions.
Great question for each of us to ask ourselves, Brooke! One of the assumptions people often make is that Creator’s Love is just like human love with similar limitations. This story suggests that the mother (the Creator) possesses something way beyond human love. The miracle of God’s Love is that it turns natural limited human beings into supernatural beings capable of expressing love in ways that are beyond the bounds of human imagination. We can become capable of this kind of love if we will only allow God’s Love to flow into our souls through our sincere desire to receive it.