God is Like a Father
by Mary Ann Moore

As Jesus was growing up he Iearned many things about God. He learned that God cared about what happened to people and he learned that God wanted people to care about each other. He also learned that he could talk with God and when he talked to God he called him Father. After Jesus was grown he traveled around the countryside, meeting many people and telling them how God wanted them to care for each other.

One time a large group of people gathered around Jesus and one of them came forward and said, "Jesus, I want to do the things that God wants me to do but sometimes it is hard to know what I am supposed to do. God has given us many rules to follow like: don't steal, don't lie, don't hurt others. But sometimes it's hard to remember all the rules. Can you tell me an easy way to remember what God wants me to do?" So Jesus spoke to God in the following way, "Father, one of your children wants to know a way to remember all the things you want your people to do. What shall I tell them?"

Then God answered, "Tell them, 'All those rules really mean one simple thing: Love each other." And so that was what Jesus told them.

But one of the people said to Jesus, "Must we love everybody, even people who are different from us?" Jesus spoke to God again, "Father, they want to know if they must love people who are different."

And God answered, "Tell them, 'Every one of you is different and special but you are all my children and I love each one of you and I want you to love each other,"' And so that was what Jesus told them.

The people who came to talk with Jesus noticed that he talked to God. They asked him to teach them how to talk with God. So Jesus spoke to God again and said, "Father, your children want to know how to talk with you. What shall I tell them?"

God then answered, "Tell them to talk with me in prayer." And so that was what Jesus did. He taught the people a prayer like the following:

Father, blessed is your name
May we learn to love each other
May a world of love come to be.
Give us this day the things we need
And forgive us for the wrong things we do
As we will forgive others.
Keep us safe from evil.
Amen.