This religious story was written by Joanne Rutis
Copyright © of this children's story by Antelope Publishing
This Religious Site for Children Is Brought to You By Antelope Publishing
E-Publishers of Browser Readable E-Books on CD-ROM Since 1995
Start:
Sally was puzzled. "Mother," I don't understand something."
Mother put down the magazine she had been reading and gave Sally her full attention. "What's that, dear?" she asked as Sally climbed into her lap and settled down for a serious talk.
"Daddy says Jesus was the Son of God," she began seriously."
"That's right, dear," Mrs. Miller said. "Jesus had a human mother, but his Father was God."
"If God was His Father why was Jesus born in a stable? Why not a palace?"
"That's a very good question, Sally," her mother said. "Run fetch me your Bible and we'll find the answer together."
By the time Sally came back into the room her mother had moved to the kitchen table where she sat waiting for her daughter to take a seat next to her. Sally lay the large print Bible on the table and climbed up on the phone book that she used to make herself higher.
"Turn to John 18:36 and 37 and we'll read what Jesus said," her mother instructed.
Sally enjoyed looking up scriptures. When Sam was part of the study she and he would see which could find the verses their parents gave them first. Sam was visiting a friend, but Sally was sure she found the verse faster than her brother could have.
Sally and Sam weren't too good at reading big words yet, so her mother or father generally read the scriptures for their children. Mother read:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
"The child being talked of here is Jesus," Mrs. Miller explained. "You see it says Jesus will have a government, and that there will be no end to that government, nor the peace that comes with it. And Jesus has a throne to sit on where He will rule with justice forever. Now look up Jeremiah 23:5." Mother instructed, handing the bible back to Sally.
It took Sally a little longer to find Jeremiah, but mother waited patiently and took the bible back after Sally had found the right chapter and verse.
Mother read;
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
"Remember in your bible class you learned that Jesus was the descendant of king David?" mother asked. "Jesus is the Branch spoken of in this verse. Like the prophecy in John, Jeremiah speaks of a King who will rule wisely and with justice and righteousness.
"Now, Sally, let's look up another new testament verse, and see what the wise men said about the birth of Jesus," Mother handed the bible once more to Sally. Sally was much more familiar with the new testament and quickly looked up the verse mother told her to.
Mrs. Miller read:
"'Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.'
"The wise men brought the Christ child gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh because they know they were coming before royalty. They bowed down and worshipped the child because they knew prophecy and understood that Jesus was more than a normal man child.
"You know the rest of the story, Sally. Herod was so afraid that this new king would take his place that he ordered all the male babies two and younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding districts to be killed. It was a terrible thing to do, and not at all necessary, for Jesus himself said that his kingdom wasn't going to be set up during his physical lifetime."
"I guess Herod was pretty dumb, huh?" Sally said, thinking how sad it was that all those babies had been murdered.
"Herod wasn't the only one who didn't understand, Sally," her mother explained. "Many thought that Jesus was going to set up a kingdom during his physical lifetime. The chief priests and elders took counsel against Jesus and had him put to death because they were envious, and feared that the people would make Jesus a king. If that happened they knew Jesus would remove them from the prestigious positions they held under the Romans. But his enemies weren't the only ones who didn't understand about God's Kingdom. The mother of James and John, two of the disciples, came to Jesus and asked if he would command that her two sons sit, one at his right hand and the other at his left, in his kingdom. Jesus told her she didn't know what she was asking. He explained that such positions of authority were given to those to whom it has been prepared by his Father. She didn't grasp the spiritual aspect of God's kingdom. When he was taken and put on trial for his life, all his disciples forsook him and fled. Even though Jesus had tried to explain that he must suffer and die, and be raised back to life on the third day, his followers were taken by surprise, and deserted him. After his death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples. They asked if he were going to establish his kingdom at that time. Jesus told them that it wasn't for them to know, that it was up to his Father to decide such matters. When Jesus was on trial for his life, Pilate had asked Jesus, 'So you are a king?' and Jesus had answered, 'You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world.' His followers understood that Jesus was born to be a king. What they didn't understand was when he would rule, and the scope of his kingdom. They were looking for a physical king and a physical kingdom. They didn't grasp that it wasn't just over Judea that Jesus would reign, but over the entire world."
"But I still don't see why Jesus was born in a stable," Sally said, thinking that all her mother had said, though very interesting, hadn't answered her question.
"Let's look at Zechariah 9:9," Mother suggested. When she had helped Sally find the right passage she read, "'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.'"
'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.'
"You see, Sally, Jesus came the first time as a Lamb of God, to give his life as a sacrifice for our sins. Though God was his Father, Jesus had a human mother, and he was tempted to sin, just as we are. Remember how Satan tried to get Jesus to sin? But Jesus was full of God's spirit and overcame Satan. Unlike the first man, Adam, Jesus didn't give in to temptation. He became our example on how we are to live our lives. Even though Jesus never gave in to temptation, he was tempted, and knows what it is like to be human. Now that he has returned to God The Father, he is acting as our High Priest. That means he is a mediator between God the Father and mankind. Because he came as a human and grew up as a human, he understands what we go through. He can explain to God what it is like to be a physical human being. When we pray, Jesus pleas our case to God the Father."
"Is that why we say, 'in Jesus name', at the end of our prayers?" Sally asked.
Mother nodded. "Jesus is a very important part of God's plan. Without him we wouldn't have a Savior. His first coming was necessary for our salvation. His second coming is important too. And many don't understand the reason for it, any more than they understood the reason for his first coming."
"Is he coming back as a baby again?" Sally asked.
Mother smiled a little and shook her head.
"Jesus finished the work His father had given Him to do as a human. But that doesn't mean His work is done. You can read about his second coming for yourself, Sally," her mother said. Leafing through the bible she found a spot and passed the book to Sally to read.
With Mother's help Sally read: "
"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
"When?" Sally asked. "When will Jesus come back?"
Mother found Matthew. 25:13 and read:
"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
"If we don't know when, we are told where he will return," Mother said, sensing Sally's disappointment.
She found Zechariah 14:4 and read:
'And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.'"
"We can read more about Christ's return in Revelation 1 verses 1-8," Mrs. Miller said and turning to the back of the bible read:
''The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
"'Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
"'Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
"'John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
"'And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
"'And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
"'Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
"'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.'
"It is at his second coming that Jesus will set up his kingdom on earth and rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Mother said turning to Revelation 5:10 to read, "'And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.'"
"It is easy in this world to think of Jesus as a babe in a manger, or as a pitiful figure dying on the cross, but this is the way John describes our coming King:
"'And in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
"'His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire:
"'His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters;
"'He had in His right hand seven stars, out of his mouth went a sharp two-edge sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.'
"The next time you hear these words in a song, 'Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head,' remember that Jesus is no longer a baby, but that he grew up to be a strong man who gave his life so that you and I, and everyone who accepts him as their Savior, might live forever with him in his kingdom as lesser kings and priests of the one true KING OF KINGS and LORD of LORDS."
The Christian Counter