Ripples

by Jim Payton

was. If I say to you ‘Who are you?’ you will say your name. However, you are more than that. You are a boy or girl, you go to such and such a school, you do or do not make your bed, and you do or do not get an allowance. Your Dad’s name is so and so and your Mum’s name is such and such. You have your favourite stories and your favourite friends. You are special, and God knows your name, but you are different from anyone else. Now, if I told you that I wanted you to travel, in New Zealand, from Masterton to Auckland and meet me there how would you get there? You would perhaps go by a different route, and travel a different way than your friends would. That is because we all have different amounts of money, different cars, and different ways of travelling. We may also arrive at different times. Along the way we would have different adventures; we might stop for a cuppa, to do a job, to visit friends etc. To get there we would have to follow maps, signs, directions, other people etc. It could be that you may not like the person giving you directions, driving the bus, showing you the map or flying the aeroplane, but if they are going to Auckland, and know how to get there, then you should follow what they are saying because if you do, you will eventually get there. That is what Jesus was saying to his disciples. Follow me and I will get you to God. The bible is the map we use today to find our way to God. It tells us what Jesus did, and if we listen to the stories told in it, or read them ourselves, and do what they say, then we will get to God.

  Story 21 The Prodigal Son

  Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a farmer named McDonald. People called him Old McDonald, and as he had a farm people used to say Old McDonald had a farm. On that farm, he had all types of animals. He had cows that went moo, sheep that went baa, dogs that went woof, woof. He also had two sons: Benjamin and Samuel. Benjamin was the younger of the two. Shortly after Benjamin had left school, he became tired of working on the farm and he said to his Dad, “Dad, give me the half of the farm that will eventually be mine now, instead of later”. Benjamin’s Dad agreed to do that, but once Benjamin got his part of the farm he sold it and went overseas. He had a great time. He bought many McDonalds quarter pounders, happy meals and large chocolate thick shakes. He also bought Doc Marten boots, tattoos, BMW cars and all sorts of other things. He finally had no more money left. He also found that all his friends left him once he had no more money to spend for them. At the same time as he ran out of money, the country he was living in ran into trouble. All the crops failed to grow and the banks lost all their money. There was very little work for people to do, but Benjamin managed to find a job looking after pigs for a farmer. Some days he was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pig food. One day he realised how silly he had been. He realised that if he had stayed at home and worked on the family farm his family would at least have helped him. He packed up everything he had, which was not much, and headed home.

  As he walked down the road towards his Dad’s farm, he was a bit scared and he kept thinking of what excuses he could make for having been so greedy and silly. He did not have to worry though. As he got closer, he saw his Dad running towards him. His Dad threw his arms around Benjamin and was so happy to see him. His Dad ordered the servants to arrange a big welcome home party for Benjamin. Benjamin felt real stink about how he had taken his money and wasted it, but his Dad said that it did not matter because he had come back home and that was the main thing.

  Meanwhile, Samuel, who was out feeding the sheep and cows, came back from his work to hear a party in full swing. “What’s the party for?” he asked the servants.

  “It’s for Benjamin, your brother,” they said. “He has returned home.” Well, Samuel packed a real sad. He got sulky and would not go into the party.

  “It’s not fair,” he said. “Benjamin took his stuff and went away and ate McDonalds, KFC and Burger King, but I stayed home and worked hard. When I wanted a party, I wasn’t able to have one. It’s not fair.” He stamped his feet.

  Samuel’s Dad said, “Hey, be glad your brother has come home. I love you, and I always will. Everything I have is yours. I know it seems unfair that Benjamin has wasted his share of the farm, but be happy that he has come back to us, his family.”

  You see, it is the same with God’s family. Sometimes it seems unfair that we are being good yet others are not but they seem to enjoy things that we cannot have or do. Then when they stop being bad everyone makes a big fuss over them. It seems unfair doesn’t it? The thing is, God loves us all, even when we turn away from him, and even when we do wrong, he still loves us, so when we come back home to him he has a party with all the angels to celebrate us leaving our bad things behind us and being good again.

  Story 22 The Little Star

  I am only a small star. If you looked forever at the night sky, you would not see me. God made me on the fourth day of creation. My name does not matter, but God knows it. When he made me, he said, “I have made and placed you in the heavens for a special reason”. At that time, I did not know the reason, but from where I was I could see all that happened in the world. I watched animals and big creatures roam the earth. I watched Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge and leave the Garden of Eden. I watch Abraham leave Ur and travel to the Holy Land. I watched the trials and troubles of the Jewish race. I saw God talking with Moses and giving him the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. While all this happened, I stayed in the sky wondering what task God had for me. Then, one day, God sent an angel to tell me to get ready for an important job. I can tell you that I was excited. I guessed it probably meant something was going to happen on earth. I knew that if it were to do with earth then it would be with the Jewish people because they were God’s chosen race. I started to take a bit more interest in what was going on in the Holy Lands. Then I saw Gabriel, one of God’s angels, heading down to earth. He went to a Priest by the name of Zechariah and told him that he, and his wife Elizabeth, were going to have a baby son and that they were to call him John. Gabriel also told Zechariah that his son John would get people ready for the coming of the Lord. Zechariah did not believe Gabriel so Gabriel made him unable to speak until his son was born and named John. A month later, I saw Gabriel go back down to earth to a place called Nazareth. He spoke to a virgin girl named Mary who was engaged to Joseph. He told her that she would have a baby son and that his name would be Jesus. Mary told Gabriel that she was not married but he told her that the baby would be born with God as the father. When Mary told Joseph what had happened, he married her. I knew immediately that this was important and that it was what I was going to have something to do with. For all those years, I had stayed in the sky waiting for this moment and now it was near. Then I saw that something else was happening. The Roman Emperor gave orders that everyone had to return to their hometowns for counting so that the Romans would know exactly how many people were living in the Holy Lands. Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem because that is where Joseph had been born.

  Then Gabriel came to me. You can imagine how excited I was. He told me that my job was to move closer to earth and start to shine brighter than all the other stars in the sky. I was to approach Bethlehem from the East and that as I went; I was to watch for three Wise Men who would follow me. I was to lead them to the place where Jesus was with his Mother Mary. Immediately I started towards earth. As I got closer, I started to shine brighter and brighter. Then, one night, I saw Jesus born in a manger surrounded by animals. It was then that a big group of angels went past me and told some shepherds that Jesus had been born. I watched the shepherds as they went to see Jesus. Down on earth I noticed men on camels following me. It was all happening just as Gabriel had said it would. I shone even brighter, and led the men on their camels to where Jesus was. They knelt down and worshipped Jesus as the son of God. They gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They then left.

  God then spoke to me. He said, “Thank you little star. You have done well.” I then went back to where I had been since the fourth day of creation. As I went, my brightness returned to normal. I now stay where I began
all those years ago. I thank God every day for my chance to have been able to serve him. I do not know if he has another job for me, but if he does then I will do it. From where I am, I can see Jesus in heaven with his father, God, and I can see people on earth doing what Jesus wanted them to do. I love to see the children, at Christmas, getting presents, and giving presents, and remembering as they do that I was part of giving them the greatest gift of all; Jesus.

  Story 23 David

  Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a family in Bethlehem in the land of Judah, whose father’s name was Jesse. Also in the family, which was a large one, were eight sons. The oldest was Eliab. He was big and handsome. All the girls loved him. The youngest son was David. One day, Judah’s neighbours, the Philistines, decided that they did not like the people living in Judah so they held a meeting and decided to fight them. Jesse’s three oldest sons Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah, were in Judah’s army. Because David was the youngest son, he was unable to join the army. He had to stay home and look