John Caldwell
Well-Known Member
It is a hypothetical. And as an illustration it can, of course, be pulled apart (I told you I'd make a mess of the illustration....we can remove "good" and "bad". But the gist remains. Like you say, it is the heart. The son praying for God to give his father life out of love, even though it was God's will that his father perish, was praying the will of the Father.No, that's a hypothetical for which it may seem there is only one correct answer, but actually either answer could be correct in a real situation depending on a person's heart. In your example, of course, you have already defined one son as being wicked and one being good. But consider this:
"And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Mark 10:18
Why did you or the person who first told the story decide one son was "good"?
We do not have to wonder what God's will is for us. It is written between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22. When we look at our lives we can see if we are walking in a Christ-like manner or if we are seeking after our own fleshly desires.
Anyway, I don't disagree with you.