By the Rev Tim Greenslade, of St John's Church and Park Church Community Centre, Weymouth

I was recently invited to speak at a school assembly on the theme of grace.

This is a great subject, but not always an easy one to explain.

The idea I had for the assembly was to think about Jesus's story about the lost or prodigal son.

You may know the story well, but it seems to me that this story tells us much about grace and in particular the gracious love of God.

The story begins with the son asking his father for his share of his inheritance.

The father gives him the money and the son goes off to enjoy himself.

Unfortunately he does not use this money wisely and wastes it in what one Bible version calls wild living'.

When he has nothing left he is driven to work as a labourer feeding pigs.

Eventually he realises what a mess he is in and decides to go back home and throw himself on the mercy of his father.

He resolves to apologise and ask for work back home.

But on the way home, his father runs out to meet him and greets him warmly, throwing his arms around him.

The son manages to make his speech, but the father goes on showing great love to his son, calling for the best robe and announcing that they will celebrate the son's homecoming with a party. The father is thrilled because his lost son has come home - it seemed that he was dead but now he is alive again. I know this story backwards, and yet I still wonder at the love of the father.

This mirrors God's love for us. It is huge in its scope, it is freely given and there is no need to earn it.

As it says in the Bible: "For God so loved that world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."