God’s love may surprise you! It’s better than most people expect.

Jesus told this made-up story to show what God’s love is like. God’s love is like a daddy who ALWAYS loves his child, and waits with arms wide open – no matter what!

The daddy in this story had a son who took his money, left home, and left his family. That probably hurt his feelings. Then the son made foolish choices, did some very bad things, and disobeyed God’s rules. Oh, the son had fun for a while, but he ended up hungry, scared, and in trouble. He was in such a bad situation that he headed home. He was ready to admit his wrongs and just be treated like a servant.

What is God’s love like? It’s like that loving daddy in this story, who was waiting and watching for his child with arms wide open, running to hug him, welcome him home, and throw a party to celebrate.

Is that what you expected the daddy in this story to do? It’s not what the people who heard Jesus tell the story expected. Maybe they expected the daddy to scold and punish his son, make him pay back all the money and pay for all the wrongs he had done. But that’s not what happened, is it?

Can you describe what happened when the son got home? The word picture Jesus painted of God’s love surprised them all! How surprised were you? Not surprised? A little? or A lot?

Here’s what it means for you:
God ALWAYS loves you. God’s love is waiting for you – even after you’ve done wrong, even after you have broken the rules, even after you made mistakes or foolish choices. No matter what – your Daddy in heaven ALWAYS loves you. If any of God’s children turn away from Him, God keeps waiting and watching with a heart full of love. God is like that loving daddy in this story, with arms wide open to hug you, protect you, and give you what you need and celebrate your return!

Dear Daddy in Heaven,

Thank you for loving me with arms wide open!
I’m glad to know you ALWAYS love me – even when I do bad things, or act foolishly, or make wrong choices.
I’m glad that I can turn to you anytime, even when I get in trouble.
Please help me remember that you ALWAYS love me, and help me to love you back.
Amen!

Do what you like to do to show your favorite part of this story. Here are some ideas for you:

• Draw or color a picture of your favorite part of the story.

• Use Play-Dough or clay to make a pig eating the yucky stuff.

• If you have other kids around, you could dress up, act out the story and record it as a video.

• Dress up as characters in the story and have someone take pictures of you in costume showing one of the scenes you like best. (Someone could even dress up as the pig!)

Playing with a story helps you learn better.

Grandma Goodie focuses on one story, one key point, and tells it as if speaking to one child. In this part of Luke’s Gospel, GG’s focus was on the younger brother. Her key point is that God is like this father, whose love was constant and extravagant. He was waiting and watching, hoping for his child to come home, ready to welcome him with arms wide open.

Whether or not your child has a loving father in their life, this story says that they have a Father in heaven who loves them in the same way the father in the story loved his wayward son.

In context, Jesus told his story to a group that included Pharisees (who were self-righteous religious leaders) and tax collectors (who most Jews considered the worst kind of sinners). The Pharisees were complaining that Jesus hung out with sinners. So, Jesus told this story. In context, Jesus’ story contrasts the younger brother with an older brother, who represented the Pharisees; but that’s too complex for young kids. If you tend toward self-righteousness, you may benefit from reflecting on what the father said to the older son after GG wrapped up.

Jesus didn’t set up his story’s characters as “good, religious people” who should be applauded as heroes and “bad sinners” who should be shunned. The hero of Jesus’ story is the father who showed constant, irrepressible, love and compassion – even for his wayward son.

The plot did show that bad behavior and foolish choices resulted in bad consequences. Most grown-ups want to protect their child from the harm that can come from disobedience. It’s okay to draw attention to the bad consequences in this story, but emphasize the key point as God’s surprising love.

As adults, having lived longer with our inherent sin nature, we can probably think of a time we turned from God, went our own way, and ended up in trouble because of it. We may be able to remember such a story and the moment we came to our senses, felt remorse, turned back to God, confessed our sins, and experienced God’s welcoming love. If your child is old enough, and wants to hear it, you might share that story too. Just be sure to focus on the nature of God’s constant and surprising love.

Our aim, for ourselves and each child we influence, should be to get “rooted and grounded in LOVE,” as it says in Ephesians 3:17. Seeing God as our heavenly Father, who loves us – no matter what – draws grownups and children alike to turn to God and experience his loving embrace.

When we appreciate the surprising love God has for us – even when we foolishly take the wrong path or willfully disobey Him – we are drawn to turn back to God. He is the One we can trust will provide for our needs and come running to embrace us with arms wide open – no matter what.