prod-i-guhl - adj. wastefully or recklessly extravagant Any other father in the ancient world would have done the opposite in reaction to such an outrageous request. To ask for your inheritance before the death of the father was the same as wishing he were dead! A just father would have slapped the son and chased him out of the home with verbal and physical blows. But in order to leave open the possibility of repentance, the father went ahead and sold off a portion of his "property." The word Jesus used for "property" is the Greek word "bios" which means life. Property meant so much more back then that it does now. The father in a sense tore his life apart for his son - taking the agony upon himself rather than giving it to the son. Thus, ironically, what we got here is a story not just about a prodigal son, but a prodigal God - who literally tore his life apart for us - taking upon himself the agony we deserved.
Such love! Such extravagance! Does God capture your heart and your imagination? The only way to turn from the idols in our life is not by destroying them with an act of the sheer will, but by dispossessing them of their beauty.