Chapter 13
Jessica
looked around the Sunday school classroom.
The room was small, but just big enough for the small group of
kids. There were about ten boys and
girls in the classroom besides the teacher.
Jessica recognized about half of the kids from the bus, but she didn’t
know the others. Some were rowdy, but
most were listening to the teacher.
“Our
lesson for today is from Luke chapter fifteen,” the teacher said.
Jessica
looked around a little nervous. She didn’t
have a Bible.
The
teacher must have seen Jessica’s worried look, because she added, “If you don’t
have a Bible, or if you didn’t bring one, just look on with someone else or you
can just listen as I read the verses.”
Jessica
liked the Sunday school teacher. She
seemed to care about everyone in the classroom.
She was kind and observant and seemed to be interested in each boy and girl.
“Our story
for today is about the Prodigal Son,” the Sunday school teacher began. “Prodigal
is a big word that simply means that the boy was a run-away. Have you ever thought about running away from
home?”
Jessica
had thought about running away. She had
thought that it would be easier for her if she had run away from home. But then she had realized that she would just
be exchanging one set of problems for a new set of problems.
The
teacher went on, “This boy was the younger of two sons. He told his father that he wanted his
inheritance early.” The teacher explained,
“An inheritance is the money that a
man leaves to his children when he dies.”
She went on with the story, “This boy wanted to leave home and to enjoy life.
He wanted his freedom. His father was hurt by his son’s attitude,
but he gave his rebellious son his half of the money. Soon the son left home for a far country. In this far country, the boy didn’t have his
father or older brother to check up on him.
He had new friends who enjoyed partying with him. The boy didn’t realize that he was the only
one paying for the party. But soon his
money ran out. When his money was gone,
so were his friends. They had only been
using him. Without money and without
friends and in a far country, the boy was desperate. He had no money to buy food. He couldn’t pay rent for a place to
stay. He was homeless. The only job that he could find was feeding
hogs. What a change of life, for this
boy!”
Jessica
felt sorry for the boy. He was getting
what he deserved, but she still felt sorry for him.
The
teacher went on, “One day he was feeding those hogs and he began to think. Here he was, in a pigpen with no food; no
money; nothing! This was the moment when
he woke up! He said to himself, “This is
crazy! Why don’t I go back to my father? I’ll apologize to him and just become one of
my father’s hired workers. At least I’ll
have food and a place to stay,”
The
teacher explained, “So the rebellious boy went back to his father, all ready
with his apology. But when his father
saw him coming up the road, he ran and hugged him and was so glad to see his
long lost son. The son began his apology,
but the father ignored him. The father
was so glad to see his son that he welcomed him back home! The father wasn’t angry; he was glad to have
his lost son back. He didn’t scold his
son; he threw him a party!
Jessica was
amazed at the father in this story. She could
not believe how kind he was. He should
have been be angry at his son, who had wasted so much money. But he wasn’t angry. Jessica realized how much the father must
have loved and missed his son.
A bell
rang somewhere out in the hallway. The
teacher finished up the story and dismissed the children. But Jessica couldn’t forget the kindness of
the father in the story.
She
thought, “I wonder if that is how God feels about me?” Jessica had never thought of how much God loved
her until now. And then she thought, “Have
I been rebellious like that prodigal son?”
Jessica was thinking new thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment