PREAMBLE

PREAMBLE

“Teach a child in the way he should go;

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

These words taken from Proverb 22:6 speak loudly of the responsibility of parents and caregivers to the children entrusted to them. In these modern days with the advent of such a large and diverse selection of electronic gadgets, our children are bombarded with so many distractions from every direction that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with their spiritual development.

We as adults, often overwhelmed by the demands for survival, are guilty of neglecting our responsibilities of ensuring our children’s growth. We are losing sight of the fact that at this stage children are at their most receptive phase for absorbing information and unless we make an effort to help them, they are likely to acquire wrong information from other sources.

I believe no one is better equipped or better placed to do the job than the parent or the caregiver. By making use of every opportunity to teach the words of Jesus Christ, to read the Holy Bible as well as by setting personal examples we can build our children’s faith and offer them alternative examples to live by. In this way we can prepare them to deal with the many and varied temptations they will face in life as they go forward.

These stories under the banner “The Old Lady and Ana” grew out of a discussion I had with my cousin Starr Sabga during which we lamented that our children are not being exposed to reading and discussing the bible as we were. We both felt that as a result of this we are missing a very important opportunity to expose them to God’s words and running the risk of losing them.

The stories are strictly my interpretation of selected passages from the Bible based on my Christian education and on my own life experience. They are meant for the younger child, as examples of how we may use day to day experiences to learn about God’s word. They are by no means exhaustive but I trust they may serve to get other parents and caregivers to do the same.

If this happens, then I would consider myself fully rewarded.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

40. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-JOHN 15: 12-17 (Focus on Love and Friendship)

Ana sat quietly next to her grand mother, as she listened intently to the speaker on television. He was talking about Christ’s love for us all, and the sacrifices he made on our behalf. The speaker concluded by expressing his pride and satisfaction that he is able to call Christ his true friend, and his willingness to go to any length to remain his friend. After he was finished, Ana turned to her grand mother and asked:
“Gramma, Jesus is the son of God who we honor and pray to, how could he also be our friend as well?
The old lady, with a smile of satisfaction, hugged her grand daughter and replied confidently:
“Yes indeed my dear child. In fact Jesus actually went as far as to tell us that we can only qualify to be his friend only if we love our neighbors as he loves us. Let me read to you from the Gospel of John Chapter 15, Verses 12-17, I will begin with Verse 12:


This is my commandment;
That you love one another, as I have loved you.

“Jesus could not be more direct. He actually commanded us to love one another in the same way that he loves us. We cannot expect to be considered a friend and a disciple, unless we do as he does by genuinely loving one another under any and all circumstances. Notice he makes no exceptions, nor should we.”
Anticipating Ana’s concern for this sweeping statement, the old lady continued to read Verse 13:


Greater love has no one than this;
That someone lay down his life for his friends.

“There is no stronger way to demonstrate the meaning of these words than to be willing to make the extreme sacrifice. How extraordinary the love of Jesus is for us, that he voluntarily accepts the pain and sacrifice and crucifixion for us. He expects no less from us, if we wish to be his friend and follower. We also must be willing, if the need arises, to accept extreme sacrifice for one another, in his name.”
Pausing briefly she looked at Ana, who was by now in deep thought. She then continued to read Verse 14:


You are my friends,
If you do what I command you.

“This is a declaration meant for the whole world. As far as Jesus is concerned, there are no exceptions to his friendship and only one condition, that we follow him! All Jesus asks of anyone of us to qualify for his total love and friendship is that we obey his commands."
Ana by now sitting up and obviously delighted at the thought that she too, can become a friend of Jesus, listened intently as the old lady continued to read Verse 15:


No longer do I call you servants,
for the servant does not know what his master is doing;
But I have called you friends,
for all that I have heard from my Father
I have made known to you.

“This is the ultimate promise and reward for our loyalty for being true followers of Jesus Christ. He promises us that our status will change from one of being subservient to a master to do what he says and what he wants, to one of being a partner and friend. We will be able to share in our hearts and our minds, in partnership with Jesus Christ, God’s plans and purpose to lead the world in a direction of truth and love to all. This is what it means to become a true member of God’s family!"
The old lady placed her hands gently on Ana’s shoulder to indicate that she was not quite finished and then continued to read Verses 16 and 17:


You did not choose me, but I chose you,
And appointed you that you should go and bear fruit,
And that your fruit should abide,
So that whatever you ask the Father in my name,
He may give it to you.
These things I command you;
So that you will love one another.

“This is a very important reminder that God’s power is not available on demand. Irrespective of who you are, whether the Apostles or anyone of us, no one will ever have the option or opportunity to select the Lord God as master, inthe same way you can choose a President. It is God, in his kindness and love, who chooses us, and voluntarily allows us to become part of his family and who answers our prayers and our requests. All of this is granted to us if we follow his commands to love one another."
The old lady closed her bible and with a sense of awe at the greatness of her loving God, she turned to her grand daughter with profound love in her heart and announced:


“My dear Ana, be forever grateful that you have been chosen by Almighty God
to be his disciple and his friend. You must never, ever fail to remember this,
to continually give thanks to him and to always live by his commandments. AMEN!”

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