Jesus fights our monsters

Do you ever get scared that there are monsters in your room at night? If you tell your family about them, your mom or dad might open your closet and look under the bed to help you remember that the monsters aren't real. Then you can go back to sleep!

In this week's Gospel (John 10:11-18), Jesus acts like your parents do: He helps us to remember that no matter how scared we feel sometimes, He's always taking good care of us.

"I am the good shepherd," Jesus taught. "A good shepherd will give up his life for his sheep; a hired man who works for pay would just let a wolf attack the sheep. I will lead all sheep, and there will be one flock of them."

When you're scared of monsters, grownups can help you feel less afraid. After they turn the light on and show you there aren't any monsters, you know that everything will be all right.

But even when we're scared of bigger things than monsters, Jesus wanted us to remember He's there to show us that everything will be all right, too. Like a shepherd who takes care of a flock of sheep, Jesus takes care of the whole world.

A shepherd makes sure no "monsters" like wolves hurt his sheep -- and Jesus is always here to make sure we're not alone with our "monster" problems, either.

Sometimes, even grownups don't help you feel safe that the monsters you worry about are just pretend before they say, "Go back to sleep!" Jesus talked about a man like that, who was hired to take care of some sheep and didn't do a good enough job.

But Jesus also asked us to remember that even when the grownups, our "shepherds," aren't helping us feel safe, Jesus is there to help.

Monsters under the bed might be just pretend, but Jesus doesn't mind helping us fight them!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me fight all my monsters -- the real ones and the pretend ones. Amen!

(04-17-97) [[In-content Ad]]