Theme: The First Commandment

Jesus and Love

Once upon a time there was a very strange world. All the people who lived in this place were sad. Life was hard, and no one knew how to change it.

In this world, most of the people were poor and there were many sick people too.

Some were rich, some were healthy, but no one helped themselves. The feeling of selfishness was stronger than the feeling of solidarity.

Those who did not have so many material needs were proud of it and thought they were better than others, but deep down they were also unhappy.

In this strange world, people didn't respect each other. Any discussion ended in a fight and confusion.

People also valued ephemeral things and material goods too much. They reached the absurd point of being more interested in money than in God. And so, they went on with their lives and time passed by.

The prophets said that one day a man would come to this world to save everyone from misery.

One night, a star of unparalleled brightness cut across the sky, illuminating everything.

Many people rejoiced themselves that this bright star was the sign that the special man was coming.

In a humble stable, among the animals, Jesus, the awaited messiah, was born.

When he grew up, Jesus began to teach people about the Laws of God. And that's how everything started to change.

Everywhere, Jesus healed sick people, gave advice, and exemplified kindness, aid, forgiveness, and love.

Once, he was asked what was the most important thing to God.

That question was very special. With Jesus' answer, everyone would know what to do from then on, since happiness comes when we fulfill God's will.

Fortunately, Jesus responded. He said the most important thing was love. First, people should love God very much.

To complete the teaching, he also said that the second most important thing was to love those close to us, and also to love ourselves.

When Jesus spoke about love, many people were touched. Love is a very strong feeling, very pleasant to feel and that has a very great force. However, not everyone was ready to start living with love, so they didn't believe in him and didn't accept that he was the expected messiah.

Even so, after Jesus died, his teachings were spread, and more and more people came to know the gospel messages.

So, little by little, everyone learned about love and the world changed.

It took many years, a few millennia in fact, but that place that was once strange and far from God has become a wonderful place.

In this renewed place, people loved each other, respected each other, helped each other, forgave each other, understood each other, and...

They were very happy!

(Adaptation of the text “My Kingdom is Not of this World”, from the book Jesus and the Children, by Adeilson Salles.)

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com