God, the best babysitter

Jesus, help me appreciate great babysitters -- and you. Amen!

Jesus told a crowd, "My sheep -- my followers -- know my voice when they hear it, and they follow me. I help them to live forever with God, and no one can take them away from me, because God, my Father, gave them to me. God the Father and I are really the same person."

Babysitters can be great. They come to your house just to spend time with you. A good babysitter will play games, talk about things that are important to you and make sure you're safe while your family isn't home.

In a way, God is the ultimate babysitter: God looks out for us 24 hours a day! In this week's Gospel (John 10:27-30), Jesus says that if we're smart, we'll always be excited about spending time with God.

If you've got a favorite babysitter, you probably start following her around as soon as she arrives at your house. She might help you with your homework; she might answer questions other people won't, give you good advice, or hug you when you're scared or sad.

Jesus might have been like a good babysitter, because lots of people He met followed Him around, too. They could tell He cared about them, and He gave good advice when He taught them about God. He even taught them things they'd never heard before -- like the fact that He and God the Father were the same person, because they were both God.

Babysitters who pay attention to kids can help you feel important and special. Jesus did that, too -- and still does it today, because He promised that if people listen and follow Him, they'll go to heaven someday. Even the best babysitter can't do that!