There was a little boy who would always come home late from school. Even though his parents told him that they did not want him to do this, he would still be late in coming home from school. There was always something to distract the little boy. He would get into a dodgeball game after school with some other boys and would lose track of time and would come home late. His parents always worried about him. All they wanted him to do was come home from school first and then he could go out and play. They would explain to him that they only wanted to know that he was safe. After every explanation, he would promise to do better and each day he would be tempted away by friends on their bikes or by some local dog with whom he could play catch.

Finally, the day came when the parents decided that they had to take some kind of action. They told the boy that if he failed to do what they were asking, they would have to punish him. He seemed to understand. In fact, the next morning as he left for school, his mother reminded him that he had to come home right after school and he said that he would. When the last bell rang, he began his journey home, totally forgetting what his parents had asked of him. He got so involved in a game with some other boys that by the time he got home his father had already arrived home from work. The boy noticed that it was unusually quiet in the house so he went upstairs to play with his toys.

When he was called downstairs for dinner, he went over to the place where he usually sat and he could not believe his eyes. There on his plate was a slice of bread next to a glass of water. He stared at it for a while, realizing that this was his punishment for being late. Then his father reached over and took the plate with the slice of bread and replaced it with his own plate. His father's plate was filled with slices of roast beef and mashed potatoes covered with gravy. Throughout the rest of the meal, the boy ate the roast beef, while the father ate the slice of bread and drank the water.

Many years later when that boy became a man, he said that this experience taught him what God was really like. He is the one who would come and take our punishment. He is the one who would come to destroy death. Through the cross of Jesus and his resurrection, we too can learn what God is really like.

Adapted by Dynamic Preaching, Seven Word Corporation, September, 1996, p. 38.