He Let Him Go

"There was a man who had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give to me the share of inheritance that falls to me. And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had, and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his inheritance in loose living..." (Luke 15:11-13)

An interesting point was brought to my attention about this parable: the father let his son go. He didn't plead or beg with him...he didn't forbid him from leaving the safety and responsibilities of the house. The prodigal son's father let him go. He didn't send a convoy of servants to look for him. He didn't hire a group of men to go and forcibly bring him back (though apparently he had the means to do so). He simply let his son go.

The hardest lessons learned in this life are the ones we have to learn on our own. The most memorable moments of education don't come from a classroom, or some lecture from parents... the most memorable instruction comes when we are allowed to fail. The lessons that stick with us throughout life come when we choose the wrong path, and we learn to turn around. We have the scars from the thorns, the bruises from the fall, the memory of the hurt...and we learn not to go down that road again.

God allows us to fail. There would be no apostle Paul without the persecuting Saul. There would be no apostle Peter without the unbelief of the thrice denial. There would be no need for the forgiving, outstretched arms of the Father...if we were never allowed to fail. The hardest lessons in life are the ones we have to learn on our own, but they are also the ones that stick with us the longest.