When You Find Your Way Back | Kid's Club

God's story two sons and a father So part of God's story is about Jesus wanting us to know how much God loves us Sometimes Jesus taught by using parables a parable is a pretend story that teaches us a lesson Jesus once told a parable about two brothers and a dad and it begins like this this dad had two sons We call one the older son because he's well older We call the other the prodigal son because he liked to waste money buying things he didn't need One day the prodigal son went to his dad and said dad give me my share of your money See he knew when his dad died he and his brother would split the money But he didn't want to wait for his dad to get old and sick and die. He wanted money now You might think most dads would say no way, but his dad actually gave it to him Kids remember this is a parable. I wouldn't try that at home Anyway, the son took the money and ran away We don't even know if he said goodbye and for a while he bought everything he wanted. He bought stuff for his friends, too He had so much fun spending money that he never bothered to earn it soon He had nothing left. So now he needed a job to buy food Problem is the only job he could find was working for a farmer feeding pigs You know animals that enjoy snorting and rolling around in the mud and to make matters worse His friends stopped liking him since he stopped buying them things Although people who hang around just because you're buying them things are not real friends Here was the prodigal son stuck feeding pigs. No friends. No home and no food. He was so hungry He wanted to eat the smelly soggy pig food. He felt pretty sorry. He had run away Have you ever done something and felt sorry about it later, it's not fun to feel that way, is it? Well one day the prodigal son remembered how the people who worked for his dad had lots of food to eat He didn't think his dad would want him back as a son, but maybe he could be a servant in his dad's house But this idea was risky. He had been so mean to his dad. He had taken money and run away He'd spent every penny. He had acted like he never wanted to see his dad again The prodigal son knew he didn't deserve to go home But if he didn't ask his dad for a new job, he could die so he decided to go back to his dad's house Well while the prodigal son was still pretty far away his father saw him coming and guess what his dad started running to him then he hugged his son and

Even kissed him really the Bible says that in fact He threw the prodigal son a huge welcome home party and even gave him special gifts Meanwhile the older brother was out in the fields working kids. Remember this brother had been home the whole time Obeying his dad while his younger brother ran away So when the older brother found out his dad was throwing a party for his younger brother. He was mad. No really mad He had never gotten a party. He thought his little brother deserved punishment. Not a welcome home celebration Jesus told this story because sometimes we act like the prodigal son We do things that make God sad like how the son took his dad's money and ran away Other times we act like the older son We follow God's rules, but forget how special it is to obey him Maybe we even want people who disobey to get punished instead of being excited when they decide to follow God But Jesus wants us to know that no matter what we do. He loves us Just like that father and that's the story of the prodigal son So in case you missed it, here's the quick version there were two brothers One loved buying stuff. He asked his dad for money. He ran away. He spent the money. He felt sorry He went back home his dad threw him a party the older brother got mad The dad loved both sons and no matter what God loves us, too. And that's a part of God's story