The Prodigal God Book Review

The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy J. Keller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I discovered this book by accident while searching through my public library’s Christian books. The title caught my eye, because although I have heard a teacher or two say that the father was really the most prodigal in the story, I had never seen it so blatantly and succinctly related to our prodigal God. It is God who is the lavish giver in this parable. He lavishly gives to both his undeserving sons.

prod·i·gal /ˈprädəɡəl/ adjective

1. spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.

"prodigal habits die hard"

synonyms: wasteful, extravagant, spendthrift, improvident, imprudent, immoderate, profligate, thriftless, excessive, intemperate, irresponsible, self-indulgent, reckless, wanton

2. having or giving something on a lavish scale.

"the dessert was crunchy with brown sugar and prodigal with whipped cream"

synonyms: generous, lavish, liberal, unstinting, unsparing, bountiful

noun: prodigal; plural noun: prodigals

1. a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way.

This book shows the difference between the prodigal behavior of the younger son and the extreme prodigal love the father shows both sons. This book also shows that both sons are equally in the wrong and treating their relationship with the father as secondary to what they themselves could receive from it. We see the repentance of the younger, while the story ends before we see what the elder brother, of which there are far too many in our churches today, will do. Keller gives the reason for Jesus’ cliffhanger ending to the parable. The reader is almost forced to see himself or herself as one or the other of the two brothers, at least in a that’s where and who I was and could be again without grace aspect, and one is called to respond to the lavish love and grace of our Prodigal God. Amazing book. It is the first of Timothy Keller’s books that I have read, but I don’t believe it will be the last.

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