The Story of Bob - Part 1

Ever since I attended Rebecca Pippert's seminar last week, I've wanted to share about what I learnt, but I couldn't quite decide which, or what to share, until now. It was after a conversation I had with my dear friend that I decided on sharing this, the story of the prodigal son.

Many of us are familiar with this story. A man had two sons, and the second son, for ease of telling the story, let me call him Bob, k? (although pls don't quote me on this lah, hehe) So Bob.. he was a rich young punk and I think he pretty much didn't have to do anything. He has servants to cater to his every whim, I mean, his dad was loaded. One day, Bob decided to ask his dad for his share of the inheritance.. ooo.. (the start of the big journey/big mistake) this being a Jewish background, dads are honoured and respected, so you just don't go up to dad and ask for a share of the fortune! Plus, inheritance are given only after the dad has passed on, so to ask for it while dad is living is pretty much saying.. "what? dad, you're not dead yet? come on, get a move on!"

The story goes on to tell that his dad gave Bob his share of the inheritance. I'll bet Bob really gave his dad a near heart attack for his audacity to ask for his fortune, or maybe not. Dad would have seen Bob's wild living right? Racing donkey carts through the family property (hey, there weren't Ferraris then) and pretty much creating problems for everyone. Now what was amazing to me is that his dad didn't smack Bob or kick Bob out of the house, but he gave Bob what he wanted. He could have gone to the papers and put an ad out to disown Bob!

Oo.. let's not forget about Bob's older brother.. since Bob has a name, let's name the older brother Art. So Art, he's the eldest bro, and by right, he gets the lion's share of the wealth as Jewish customs go by. So Bob, the young punk, is trying to elbow Art out of his fortune by demanding his share first.. oooo.. doesn't he need a kick to the backside?

So.. what lessons can we learn here? That dad in this story is like God, who doesn't stop us making decisions, foolish or otherwise. He gave us a will and he will not stop us making foolish decisions. Doesn't mean he doesn't love us, in fact, he loves us so much, more than we can ever imagine.

To be continued....