The Parable of the Lost Son: A Bible Story for Kids (and Their Parents)

The parable of the lost son is the story Jesus tells in Luke 15:11-32 about a young man who walks away from his father, wastes everything he has, and finally turns home. The heart of the parable is not the son's failure but the father's love. While the son was still a long way off, the father saw him and ran. The parable of the lost son shows us what God is like when we come home to Him.

"But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him." (Luke 15:20 CSB)

I have read this parable to our kids and preached it lots of times, and the line that’s been hitting me recently is the Father running. Fathers in that culture did not run. It was undignified. The father in this story did not care. He saw his son and ran.

We tell this story so our kids will know what God is like when they fail. Not what they assume God is like, not what shame whispers, but what Jesus actually said. The Father saw his lost son a long way off. The father ran. That is the picture of God we want our children to grow up knowing.

Whether your kids are little and just learning the story, or older and starting to wonder if they can come home themselves, this parable is for them. It is for you, too.

The Story of the Lost Son

Jesus told this story to a crowd that included tax collectors and sinners, His disciples, and Pharisees and scribes who were grumbling about the company He kept. Here is the story He told.

A man had two sons. The younger son went to his father one day and said, "Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me." In that culture, that was the same as saying he wished his father were dead. The father did not argue. He divided his property and gave the younger son his share.

A few days later, the son packed everything up and traveled to a distant country. He spent his money on wild living. He ran out fast. About the time his pockets were empty, a famine swept the land, and the son had nothing.

He took a job feeding pigs. For a Jewish boy, this was rock bottom. The pigs were ceremonially unclean, and he was so hungry he wished he could eat the pods they were eating. No one gave him anything. We can’t overstate how much this is rock bottom. The smell of cooked pig meat would have been repulsive to the Jews (if you can imagine) let alone actual pigs, let alone their food.

Then the Bible says, "he came to his senses." He started thinking about home. He remembered that his father's hired workers had bread to spare. He decided to go back. He even rehearsed what he would say. "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers." He didn’t think he would ever get the privileges of being a son again, but a servant in his Father’s house was better than anything outside the Father’s house.

So he started home.

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him.

The father did not wait for the son to make it to the door. He did not stand there with his arms crossed, watching to see if the boy would actually finish the walk. He ran. He threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.

The son started his rehearsed speech. He got out the part about not being worthy to be called a son. The father interrupted. He told the servants to bring the best robe, a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. He told them to kill the fattened calf. They were going to throw a feast. "Because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."

The Father’s response to His son is about the Father’s love, not the son’s performance.

There is a second part to the story. The older brother had been out in the field. When he came home and heard the music and dancing, he was angry. He refused to go in. The father came out to him and pleaded. The older brother said he had served his father for years and never been given so much as a young goat for a celebration with his friends, while this son who had wasted everything got a celebration. The father said, "Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."

That is where Jesus stops. He does not tell us how the older brother responded. He leaves the door open. It’s like He’s asking us, “How will you respond?”

What This Story Is Really About

The parable is not first about a wayward son. It is about a Father Whose love does not behave the way ours often does or the way we deserve. The son rehearsed a speech that he hoped would earn him a back-door entrance into his Father’s presence. The father interrupted that speech with a robe and a ring. The robe was an honor garment. The ring was authority. The sandals were the mark of a son, not a servant. Before the boy could finish bargaining for less, the Father had already given him more than he asked for.

That is not the God most of us walk around assuming we’re dealing with. Most of us assume God might be willing to take us back, but only after we prove we have changed. We rehearse our speeches on the way home. We are sure we are going to be put on probation. In the parable, Jesus paints a very different picture of God.

While we are still a long way off, He sees us, loves us, and runs to us.

This is the same God we read about in Hosea, Who keeps speaking tenderly to His unfaithful people and drawing them back into relationship with Himself. This is the same God Who, in Romans 5:8, demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The lost son did not earn his way home. He just came. And the father met him on the road.

The other layer is the older brother. Jesus does not let religious people off the hook here. The older brother had been at home the whole time and yet had not understood his Father any better than the younger one had. He thought love was earned by performance. He thought celebration was a reward. The father's answer is one of the gentlest sentences in scripture. "Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours."

Both sons in this story can be us, depending on the day?

Jesus is asking us at least two questions here. The first is, ‘will you come home?’ and the second is, ‘will you serve me with joy once you’re here?’ When we see God correctly, the joy comes as an overflow of our relationship with Him. The older brother missed that.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Parable of the Lost Son

Where is the parable of the lost son in the Bible?

The parable of the lost son is in Luke 15:11-32. It is the third of three parables Jesus tells in that chapter, after the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin. All three are about something valuable being found.

What is the meaning of the parable of the lost son?

The parable shows what God is like when sinners turn to Him. The father in the story is the picture of God. He sees the son while he is still far off. He runs. He restores. The meaning is that God's love is not waiting at the door with arms crossed. It is running down the road to greet us.

Is the parable of the lost son the same as the prodigal son?

Yes. The two names refer to the same parable in Luke 15:11-32. The word prodigal means wastefully extravagant, which describes how the younger son spent his inheritance. Some readers point out that the father is also prodigal, in his lavish welcome home.

Why did the father run to his son?

In that culture, older men did not run. It was considered undignified. The father ran anyway, because his love mattered more to him than his dignity. The running is the picture of God's heart toward us when we turn home.

What happened to the older brother in the parable?

Jesus does not tell us. The story ends with the father pleading with the older brother to come into the celebration. We do not know if he did. Jesus leaves the ending open on purpose, because He is asking the religious people in His audience whether they will join the celebration or not.

Questions to Ask Your Kids

Bring these out at the dinner table or right after you read the story. Some of them will be more helpful for younger kids, some for older. Pick the ones that fit your family.

How do you think the son felt when he was feeding the pigs and had nothing to eat?

What do you think the father was doing every day while his son was gone?

Why do you think the father ran to his son instead of waiting for him to come all the way to the door?

Has there ever been a time when you were afraid you had done something too big to be forgiven? What does this story say to you about that?

What to Say When You Tell This Story

Tell your kids this. "There is nothing you could do that would make God stop watching eagerly for you to come home. Even if you walked away, He would see you a long way off and He would run."

Then say this. "And if anyone ever walks away from God, that is what God is like with them, too. We do not want to be the older brother in this story. We celebrate when someone comes home to God."

The truth our kids need to know about God is the same truth we need to keep believing about our own relationship with God. While we were still a long way off, He saw us. He has always been the kind of Father Who runs. I have written more about that in my post on how God meets us where we are, and on what it looks like to forgive as we have been forgiven.

This parable belongs in our home library and in our children's hearts. The father saw him and ran.

This post is part of a Bible stories for kids series.

Taking care of home, pastor, science teacher, Bible reader