Last week, I wrote of my imagined story time with 6-year-old Amanda. I asked her if she knew God. “Sorta,” she answered. I continued…
“God made the earth and all the trees and flowers, lakes and oceans, animals and birds, and people.”
“Did He make me?” Amanda asked.
“Yes, He did. He made a man named Adam and his wife named Eve, and put them in a beautiful garden. God told them they could eat fruit from all the tees in the garden except the tree in the middle.”
“Was it a plum tree? I love plums.”
“I do too, but the story just says fruit trees. After a time, the devil came. He told Adam and Eve God really wouldn’t mind if they ate from the tree in the middle of the garden, and besides, the fruit was very delicious. So, Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Right away, they knew they had done something bad and were afraid what God would do to them.”
“Are there chairs in the garden?”
“No, I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
“Because when I do something bad, I have to sit on a chair with nothing to do.”
“I see,” I said, with a smile. God did make them leave the garden, but before they left the garden, God told them that one day He would send His Son, Jesus, to earth.”
“Why?”
“To take away our sins.”
“What are sins?”
“Sins are acts of doing something bad, and all sin must be punished, just like when you have to sit on a chair as punishment when you do something bad.”
“Hmm.” Amanda thought for a minute. “Is Jesus the special baby?”
“Yep. The special baby that the angels told the shepherds about is Jesus.”
“Why did God do that?”
“Because God loves all the people in the wold so much, He sent His only Son that whoever believes in Him would never be separated from Him, but would live with Him in heaven forever.”
“Does everybody to to heaven?”
“No, Amanda, only those who have been forgiven of their sins, because anyone with sin in them cannot be with God. The Bible says if you believe in Jesus, you will live forever with Him in heaven. People who believe in Jesus have what is called faith.”
“I want to have faith.”
“Do you want to pray and ask Jesus to help you to believe?”
“Yes, and I want to know more about Jesus.” Amanda’s voice was soft and her hands were squeezed together as we prayed together.
“I have a gift for you,” I said, as I pulled out a children’s Bible from my bag. “Now you can read more about Jesus.”
Her brown eyes sparkled as she clutched her Bible to her chest. That’s how I imagined the scene might have played out.
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Could My Failure Mean Another’s Success? I am convinced it can and will. God used my failure to talk with a special young girl to potentially reaching over a thousand people. When God gives you an opportunity to serve Him, do not grieve the Holy Spirit as I did, but be intentional about telling others the good news!