Pondering the Prodigal God

I learned something new this week and I thought I'd share it - apparently, the word prodigal doesn't mean what I thought it meant. I've always assumed that prodigal meant "wayward" as in "the prodigal son" but it turns out that prodigal means something else altogether -

prodigal [prod-i-guhl]

- adjective

1. wastefully or recklessly extravagant;

2. giving or yielding profusely;

3. lavishly abundant;

Sometimes when long held perceptions give way to new perspectives, you gain new ways of appreciating old truths. I was first drawn to look into the meaning of the word when the title of a book by Tim Keller (The Prodigal God) caught my attention. Although I haven't yet read the intriguingly titled book, I find myself pondering the ways in which God might be considered "prodigal"

How has God revealed Himself to be "recklessly extravagant"?

Chiefly, I'm thinking of how God exhausted the treasure-house of heaven by sending the True Treasure, Jesus Christ on a rescue mission to redeem a world lost in rebellion.

He exhausted His wealth to make us rich (2 Corinthians 8:9)

He extravagantly loved those who loved Him not (Isaiah 53:3)

He laid aside His cosmic kingship to be the lowliest servant so as to rescue a race of rebels (Philippians 2:5-8)

He suffered immeasurable injustice to set the guilty free. (Luke 23:46-48)

He, the Perfect Righteous One became sin in order to make sinful men, perfectly righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21)

It turns out that the story of the Bible is more about the Prodigal God than the prodigal son. Just thought you should know.