“The prodigal son is not only a sinner; he is a reminder to us that we, too, often misunderstand grace. For the one who is faithful may grow complacent in his virtue, thinking he has earned favor, while the one who has gone astray is revealed as more fully in need of it.”
Søren Kierkegaard
*Retold from Luke 15:11-32 ESV.

To the Pharisees and religious scribes, Jesus said,
“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’ So, the father divided his estate between them*. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and moved to the big city, where he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe recession hit the country, and he became poor. So he went and hired himself out to one of the ranchers there, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father.
“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and crossed his arms, waiting for his approach. The son ran to him and fell on his face weeping. And he said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“The father replied, ‘You are correct, my son. Your sin is grievous, not only against me but against God. You have brought shame upon this family and upon heaven. Do you think you can simply return and all will be forgiven? You squandered our wealth and abandoned us to work alone. You must prove yourself worthy before you are a part of this family again.’
“And the father called to his servants, ‘Take this boy to the fields and give him the garments of a servant. He shall work among the hired hands until he has earned his spot. He is dead to this household until he is worthy again.’
And the father continued, ‘My older son has always been faithful and honorable to us. He increases his inheritance, never brings shame upon this house, and has always proven his worth.’ So the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put another ring on his hand. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate tonight.’
“Now the older son was in the field, working as he always did, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He shouted to a servant and asked what these things meant. And the servant said to him, ‘Your father has thrown a feast in your honor to celebrate your faithfulness and the glory you bring to the family.’
“But the older son, though pleased, hesitated and said, ‘But what of my brother? He has returned.’ And the servant replied, ‘Your father has decided that your brother will work in the fields to prove himself before he is restored. Tonight’s celebration is not for him but for you, who never faltered.’
So the older son went into the house, and the feast began with great rejoicing over the stability, reputation, and wealth he brought to the family.
Meanwhile, the younger son labored in the fields under the supervision of the hired servants. The music and laughter from the house echoed through the night, but he did not dare approach. As the party continued, the father addressed the guests, saying, ‘Let us rejoice, for my eldest son has brought honor to this family through his purity and his unwavering devotion. He will be the leader others follow.'”

“What is the joy of the Father but the return of the lost? But the elder son, who remained, did not know the joy of mercy; he knew only the sting of comparison. Let us not be like him, who did not celebrate grace, but thought his own merit sufficed.”
St. Augustine
*One could make a case that, if we were to stay true to the point of this rewriting, the father would have never allowed this in the first place. This is an insult in our culture: to demand an assumed inheritance from our living parents. It was more so for their world. Would you have done this, knowing what the younger son was likely to do with it?
In some contexts, the younger son may have been always kept in the shadow of the eldest. In this sense, the father might have simply smiled and said, “You’re not even ready to live this life. You haven’t earned this yet.”
And so, the story takes a different turn. The younger son, dissatisfied and seeking his own identity, quietly struggles with the weight of comparison, feeling unnoticed in his family. He waits for the day when he can step out from his family’s shadow, yearning for something more, but unsure of what that “something” even is.
Maybe it’s only after his father’s death that he feels free. Maybe not. Even then, the question lingers—Would he ever truly be free? The weight of family expectations, societal norms, his inadequacies, the comparison to the older son, and the feeling of never being enough keep him chained to an identity he never quite understood.
Maybe there could be a lesson in that story too.