"It's not the long walk home"

"That will change this heart

But the welcome I receive with the restart"

Mumford and Sons, Roll Away Your Stone

I've always thought that that line from Mumford and Sons was a reference to the parable of the prodigal son, and pondered it. Now I pondering whether they've been reading Tim Keller in The Prodigal God (or they could have just made it up themselves).

The first thing we need is God's initiating love. Notice how the father comes out to each son and expresses love to him, in order to bring him in. He does not wait for his younger son on the porch of his home, impatiently tapping his foot, murmuring, "Here comes that son of mine. After all he's done, there had better be some real groveling!" There's not a hint of such an attitude. No, he runs and kisses him before his son can confess. It's not the repentance that causes the father's love, but rather the reverse. The father's lavish affection makes the son's expression of remorse far easier.

The father also goes out to the angry, resentful elder brother, begging him to come into the feast. This picture is like a double-edged sword. It shows that even the most religious and moral people need the initiating grace of God, that they are just as lost; and it shows there is hope, yes, even for Pharisees. This last plea from the father is particularly amazing when we remember Jesus's audience. He is addressing the religious leaders who are going to hand him over to the Roman authorities to be executed. Yet in the story the elder brother gets not the harsh but a loving plea to turn from his anger and self-righteousness. Jesus is pleading in love with his deadliest enemies.

There's much to be said about the manner in which elder brother types welcome returning younger brothers also.