The Prodigal Laborers

This week, we learned about The Laborers in the Vineyard, a lesson which immediately followed last week's lesson on The Prodigal Son. The similarities and differences between these two parables led me to wonder what, exactly, the prodigal son came home to and what that means for each of us.

In The Laborers in the Vineyard, the eponymous laborers all got same reward. Even though they started their labors at different times, with some working only one hour, they all got the same payment, a full day's pay.

The prodigal son couldn't get same reward as his older brother, mainly because he had already gotten that reward. Near the beginning of the parable, he asked for his share of the inheritance, which he then squandered. Letting him inherit any more money at this point wouldn't be fair to his older brother, since his father would have to take that new inheritance from the older brother's share. The prodigal son can work for his pay, which we would earn through works, but he can't inherit more, which would be given through grace.

If we consider ourselves as "prodigal," which we all arguably are in one way or another, this would imply that, once we get home, we can't receive any more grace, and we would have to ear exaltation through grace. This conflicts with much of what we know about the Gospel, mainly that we are saved by grace after we prove ourselves worthy through works. We all have an inheritance waiting for us, if we act worthily, no matter which or how many sins we've committed and repented of.

The parable of the prodigal son is a good example of God's willingness to love and forgive us, but it's not a good analogy for what we can expect in terms of our eternal rewards, for several reasons. First, unlike the prodigal son's father, God has infinite resources, which He can split into an infinite number of piles of infinite resources each. Even if He has an infinite number of children who prove worthy of His greatest blessings, He can give everyone the same, infinite reward without diminishing anybody else's share. In this way, eternal rewards are much better symbolized by the laborers in the vineyard, even if we, ourselves are more like the prodigal son.

Unfortunately, no analogy is perfect. Sometimes, analogies have to focus on specific aspects of circumstances and can't afford to be stretched too far or taken too literally. Still, I'm glad I looked at these two parables together and considered which parable applied better to which aspects of mortality and judgment. It reminded me that God can afford to be forgiving and generous, no matter what we've done. We don't have to have lived perfectly to receive God's greatest rewards, and sharing those rewards with everyone doesn't mean that any individual gets less than their full share. Both parables help explain God's forgiveness and judgment. We just need to remember which parable explains which part.