Don't steal from Jesus

Have you ever had anything stolen from you? Losing something that way is scary. It's unfair, and there's nothing you can do about it!

You probably feel really angry. Whether it's a Furby that cost a lot of money or just your favorite pen, it still hurts to lose it!

Jesus knew about losing things. He even worried about losing people -- about His followers going to follow someone else. In this week's Gospel (John 10:1-10), He teaches them about robbers so they don't get "stolen."

"Anyone who sneaks into a sheep pen is a robber," Jesus said; "but when the gatekeeper walks through the gate and calls his sheep, they know his voice and follow him. You're like the sheep, and I'm the gate -- only people who come to you through me are safe to follow."

In Jesus' time, lots of people were farmers or shepherds. Their jobs were to grow crops or take care of sheep that they sold to make money. So if someone stole a sheep, the shepherd would be pretty angry!

One way to keep people from stealing is to watch your stuff. Don't leave expensive toys outside where people can take them, and don't leave your favorite pen in your desk at school.

Jesus watched His followers the same way. He called them His "sheep," and said He was like a gate to the pen where the sheep lived. He warned His followers (and us) that if anyone came to them who wasn't from God, they should run away like scared sheep.

Just like you remember to take care of your stuff, Jesus wouldn't leave the people He cared about sitting around to be "stolen" by bad people. Nobody can steal us from Jesus!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me to forgive people who steal from me -- but watch my stuff! Amen.

(04-22-99)