A young boy would often ask his grandmother questions right before it was time for bed . To him, she’s a hundred years-old so she knows everything about everything. She’s also wise, a great listener, and always bakes him his favourite pecan pie whenever he visits. What he treasures more is that she lets him ask whatever he wants without making him feel stupid.
“Grandma, can I ask you a question.”
“Of course honey. What do you want to know?”
“The other day my friend told everyone that I sleep with a night light. Everyone in class made fun of me. I got so mad at my friend that I wished he’d get really hurt on his way home by a car. Then I thought if God felt things like I did. Like, if someone did something to hurt him, does God get mad and wish for bad things to happen to that person. Is God like me? Does he want to hurt other people who do bad things to him?”
“No, God is nothing like you. God loves his friends and his enemies with love so huge that it overflows like the ocean.”
“My mom says that I shouldn’t be a braggart whenever I do cool things. But I want everyone to know all the cool things I can do! So when I tell my friends what I did, I’m always happy whenever they tell other people. Is God like me? Does he like it when people brag about the cool things he does?”
“No, God is not like you. God is not a show-off. God is humble and doesn’t care who gets the credit as long as we’re loving him and each other.”
“There’s this girl in my school who has two moms. Some of my friends call her a “lesbo”. I don’t know what that means. Sometimes I call her that too and even though I feel bad I still do it because I don’t like her. She’s always wearing weird clothes. Do you think God makes fun of people like I do?”
“No, God doesn’t make fun of people; he protects them.”
“Have you met my best friend Marco? He’s my best friend because we both like Batman, pizza and running really fast. He’s on my relay team. I feel jealous sometimes when other people try to be his best friend. I want to be his only best friend. Does God like some people more than others? Does he feel jealous like I do so that they would only be friends with him and no one else?”
“No, God doesn’t. He is great at sharing. God is very generous and does not possess people; he cherishes them.”
“Grandma, I think that God is more like you than me.”
“My boy, God is unlike anyone you will ever meet. But, I’ll take that as a compliment. It just means that after all these years of following God, I’m finally starting to be like him. Now, are you ready to go to bed?”
“Yes Grandma. I am. I hope God heard our conversation because you have a lot of good things to say about him! I think you’re one of his favourites because you’re one of mine!”