Remembering Jesus

Grownups forget things all the time. Your dad can never find his car keys when he needs them, and your grandma might ask how old you are every time she sees you! Sometimes, adults drive kids crazy.

Jesus had that problem with grownups in His time, too. He showed them over and over again that He was the Son of God, but they never remembered! In this week's Gospel (John 10:27-30), He talks about it one more time.

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."

No matter how many times you tell the grownups you know that you're seven years old, in second grade and you don't like peanut butter, it's hard to make them remember, because they don't always think it's important. When Jesus said He was God's Son and wanted to help people get close to God, some of His followers thought He was joking. It wasn't important to them to remember that stuff -- so they didn't.

If it's your bedtime and you're not sleepy yet, you might ask to hear a story you've heard a hundred times, just to stay awake and keep your mom in your room a little longer. You didn't really forget the story, but you pretend you did!

Some of Jesus' followers (He called them "sheep" because sheep follow a shepherd) asked Him the same questions over and over, too. Even if they remembered the ending of His story -- that no one could take them away from God -- the people wanted to keep Jesus around a little longer, so they asked Him the same questions again and again.

It's hard to make grownups remember everything. It's a good thing that kids -- and Jesus -- are here to remind them!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me remember everything you tell me -- especially how much you love me! Amen.

(04-30-98) [[In-content Ad]]