Robert Jones. Prodigal Children: Hope and Help for Parents. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, January 31, 2018. 40 pp.
5 out of 5
Purchase: Westminster | Amazon
This is a booklet written to address parents whose adult children might have either left the faith or embraced an ungodly lifestyle. As a pastor I think there is a huge need for good Christian writing to address parents undergoing such trials and I’m glad that both the author Robert Jones and the publisher have saw fit to have this book fill this important niche. As a booklet it is part of a wonderful biblical counseling series called “Resources for Changing Lives” printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing. In the past there were many works in this series which I have read, reviewed and recommended and this booklet now also would be included among them.
I was glad that the book did not just look at one particular issue with the wayward adult child; the issues mentioned ranges from addiction, cohabitation, homosexuality and apostasy. While mentioning these issues show the readers that the author had in the struggling parents in mind nevertheless I thought the author was wise to not only focus on only one specific issue but chose to address the parents with these prodigal children as a group. This is helpful; for me it reminded me that while the specific issues might differ yet there is nothing new under the sun and there are other parents who are going over similar thing with their child.
I appreciated the fact that in the beginning this booklet discussed what parental distress feels like. Here the author considered seven common responses of parents to the reality of a child turning away from the Lord. These responses include shock, confusion, despair and anger. I appreciate this discussion because for the parents reading this it allows them to evaluate the emotions they might have and also to evaluate them biblically. For instance in discussing about confusion the author is well aware that parents might be flooded with lots of questions in their mind about what and why things happened; yet the author also noted that some questions are unanswerable and that the son or daughter might not fully understand what’s going on either.
The bulk of the book looks at “eight pieces of biblical counsel for a parent whose adult child has turned away from the Lord and pursued a life apart from Christ.” There’s some precious biblical truths here such as the nuanced discussion of the balanced of distinguishing parents’ responsibilities and the child’s responsibilities where Proverbs 22:6 is seen also in light of the example of God’s “parenting” mentioned in Isaiah 1:2 and Malachi 1:6. I also thought the counsel of seeking unity with one’s own spouse and also shepherding the siblings of the prodigal child were also very wise and very important.
I recommend this booklet.
NOTE: This book was provided to me free by P&R Publishing and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
Thanks for this review. I’m going to bookmark this one for our two atheist sons.
As a result of reading this booklet last night I prayed for many people whom I known that have apostated or fallen into sin; I also was led to pray for their Christian parents and siblings. I have just prayed for your two sons as well as praying for you and your wife being a light and also any pain or anxiety you two might have with “prodigal” sons.
Much thanks, Jim! We continue to drop references to the Lord in our conversations with them.
Been there….but I think when it really come down we have either “given” our children to the Lord or we haven’t They are His regardless and we have to remember it is all up the Him and the child.Praying is a given regardless of how thing are.
Beverly,
You said: “but I think when it really come down we have either “given” our children to the Lord or we haven’t They are His regardless and we have to remember it is all up the Him and the child” I agree with you and I think that’s what it comes down to. Seeing that you said said “Been there…” is there anything specific you might want me to pray for?
Thank you. Just that we will all be ready…time is short.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Thank you Vincent for the reblog!
Yankee Whiskey Bravo 😎
Thanks for sharing SimJim, looks like a very helpful and practical book, although it can be a real and heartbreaking topic.
[…] Say a parent comes to you with concern with their child’s consideration of leaving the Christian faith. Don’t be so caught up with data dumping to the parents of what they ought to say or technical apologetics’ books they should read to refute atheism, evolution, etc. See this as an opportunity to minister to them spiritually as well. I find the following booklet helpful for the parents in this situation: Prodigal Children: Hope and Help for Parents. […]
[…] Prodigal Children: Hope and Help for Parents […]