Seven-year-old Billy was really excited. Today he was going to the fair. His older brother Jim had told him all about it. There were lots of fun rides, barns full of animals, and great food. Billy had hardly slept the night before, and he got up early before anyone else.
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Mom made pancakes, his favorite breakfast. Billy gulped them down and then went to brush his teeth. He waited patiently while everyone else got ready. Finally, they all loaded up the car and headed for the fairgrounds.
Lost and Found
Billy eagerly looked out the window, waiting for his first glimpse of the rides. Jim said he’d be able to see the Ferris wheel pretty soon. It only took about 30 minutes to get there, but it seemed like it was forever. As they got close, Billy yelled out, “There it is! Look at all of the people.”
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Dad parked the car, and the family walked to the gate. They bought their tickets and stepped inside. Billy had never seen so much excitement, and the smell of the food made his mouth water. He wasn’t hungry yet, but he couldn’t wait until lunchtime. He couldn’t wait to see everything else and to ride the rides.
The first thing they did was to go into a big brick building. Inside were lots of things that people had grown in their gardens or made as a craft. These entries had been judged, and the best ones got blue ribbons. There was even a section where school kids had made things. Billy stopped to look at a bug collection an 8th grade boy had made. It had beautiful butterflies, big moths, and creepy spiders. Billy’s parents hadn’t noticed that he had stopped, and he was so interested in the bugs that he didn’t notice that they had walked on.
“Hey Dad, look at that big hairy spider!” Billy said as he turned around. A girl walking by gave him a weird look because he was talking to himself. His parents were gone, and he was alone. Billy felt really scared. He stood on his tiptoes, but he couldn’t see his parents anywhere. He was lost, separated from the ones he loved.
According to the first book of the Bible, Genesis, all people are born lost. God made the world and everything in it, but His most treasured creation was people. He first made Adam out of the dust of the ground. Then a little later God created Eve. He placed Adam and Eve in a perfect garden that we call the Garden of Eden. Every night God would come and visit with Adam and Eve because He loved them. How wonderful it must have been to walk and talk with God!
“God did not want people to love and obey Him because they had to, so He gave Adam and Eve a choice with just one rule to follow. God told them that they could eat any fruit or vegetable in the garden except for one tree that they were not to eat from. This tree was growing right in the middle of the garden. God told them that if they ate of that tree, they would be separated from Him forever. Breaking this rule would be disobedience. Disobedience means knowing what God wants you to do and choosing not to do it, and disobedience is a sin. A sin is anything that you think, say, or do that goes against God’s rules. God hates sin.
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One day a stranger came to the Garden of Eden. His name was Satan. Satan is an angel, and he once worshipped God in Heaven. However, he became full of pride and wanted to take God’s place. Satan rebelled against God and convinced many other angels to turn against God. God kicked Satan and all the other rebellious angels out of Heaven. Since then, Satan has tried to ruin what God has made good. He saw his chance with Adam and Eve.
The Bible says that Satan disguised himself as a serpent, which is another word for snake. Most people now don’t like snakes, but Adam and Eve had no fear of snakes or any other animal. The snake spoke to Eve and lied to her about God. She listened to Satan’s lies and was tricked into eating fruit from the forbidden tree. Adam wasn’t fooled, but he ate too. At that very moment they became lost, separated from God, the One who loved them. Sin now entered God’s perfect world, and every person after that (except Jesus) was born a sinner, lost and separated from God.
God knows everything, so He was not surprised when Adam and Eve sinned. He already had a plan to show how much He loved them and us … a plan that would bring us back to God and never again be lost. One day God sent His only son Jesus down from Heaven to pay the price for our sins. Even though Jesus was perfect, He died on a cross and took the punishment you and I deserve for disobeying God. He did this because you are lost and He wants to save you. Jesus said, “I am come to seek and to save the lost.”
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If you want to be found and have a relationship with God, then you must:
1 – Admit you are a sinner, which means you have thought, said, or done wrong things … and we all have done some of those wrong things! For ALL have sinned … (Romans 3:23)
2 – Believe Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins. (Romans 5:8)
3 – Call on Jesus to forgive you of your sins. (Romans 10:13)
Do these things, and Jesus will forgive you of your sins and come into your life. He will help you to live a life with peace and joy … and He will always be with you! And, someday, when this life on earth is over, you will be able to live with Jesus in Heaven.
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Billy almost felt like crying. What had started as a fun day had turned into a scary one. Just as he was about to give up, he heard his father’s voice. Billy hugged his dad with all his might. His dad had been looking for him all along, just like Jesus is looking for you. Billy enjoyed the rest of his day riding rides and seeing all the sights. He stayed close to his mom and dad, though.
Lessons written for Children's Bible Ministries by Mark Redka.