The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
This is a short book that examines the parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15.
I read this chapter-by-chapter for a men’s Bible study group. Unfortunately, I lost the main point of it. I remember it being quite good and interesting, but I can’t recall what it was. (I might-re-read at some point, and update this review.)
Weirdly, I’m still recommending the book. It’s short, approachable, and there is a good point to it. I liked that it was focused on one encapsulated fable from the gospels, and it examined that to the exclusion of everything else.
Reread
Added on
I read this again, as I’m taking the Bible study could again, a few years later.
I enjoyed the book again, and I got the main point this time: the older brother in the story (the one who stayed) was just as guilty as the younger (the one who left to party). He was “using” his father (a metaphor for God, clearly) as a tool to get what he wanted, and he resented the grace of his father in welcoming his younger son back.
It’s really a treatise about how we approach and relate to God. Is following God about His grace and forgiveness, or is it transactional – we do it to get what we want?
(In this sense, it echos a lot of the same themes discussed in Skye Jethani’s With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God).
Book Info
- Author
- Timothy Keller
- Year
- Pages
- 139
- Acquired
- I have read this book. According to my records, I completed it on .
- A hardcover copy of this book is currently in my home library.
Here are some notes I took on the acquisition of this book:
I was given this for the Followers Made study group.