A Study of Human Nature

It has taken me years to finish it.  You read correctly--years.  The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J. M. Nouwen is an insightful meditation.  I didn't read it as a book; I read it as Lectio Divina.  Consequently, it was not read every day, not even every week.  I meditated upon it when I felt I had the appropriate time to dedicate to prayer.

          Nouwen offers many different insightful commentaries on the famous Rembrandt painting, and on the parable that inspired it.  Nouwen is thorough.  He gives us his first impressions.  He was so enraptured by the painting that he traveled to Russia to see it personally.  The book explains what Nouwen extrapolated.

          The structure of The Return of the Prodigal Son is divided into three sections.   The reader is presented with the thoughts of the younger son, first.  The next section is the perspective of the older son.  Finally, we see the father's side of the story.  The reader can identify with all, at one time or another, in his own personal life.

           Which one are you--the younger son, the older, or the father?

            I am happy that I took my time with this book.  It is a course on human nature and the generosity, mercy, and love of God, Our Father.