Sara was a sweet seven-year-old girl with wide, thoughtful eyes and a quiet heart full of questions. She sat near her friends and watched them smile as they talked about Jesus, and something warm and curious began to grow inside her. She noticed how peaceful they looked when they prayed, and she wondered what it meant to really know Him.
As the lesson ended, Sara stayed close and listened to her friends speak about Jesus’ kindness and love. One child said Jesus helped her feel brave, and another said Jesus was always with him, even when he felt alone. Sara pressed her hands together and softly asked, "How do you know Jesus is really with you, and why does He love you so much?"
New character: Miss Anna, Sunday school teacher, gentle and wise.
Miss Anna smiled kindly at Sara and opened the Bible to show her simple words about God’s love. "Jesus loves you because He made you, He knows you, and you are precious to Him. You do not have to earn His love, because His love is a gift, and He wants you to come to Him with all your questions and all your heart." Sara listened carefully, and the words felt like a light slowly turning on inside her.
Sara sat alone on the bench and looked up through the branches, thinking about everything she had heard. She wanted to know Jesus, but she also felt small and unsure, wondering if someone as important as Jesus would truly care about her. With a trembling voice, she whispered, "Jesus, I want to know You too. If You really love me, please help me understand and help me feel Your love in my heart."
In that still moment, Sara remembered the words she had heard: Jesus loves because He is loving, and His love reaches every child who comes to Him. She began to understand that Jesus did not wait for her to be perfect, brave, or grown-up before loving her. Tears gathered in her eyes, not from sadness, but from the deep, surprising joy of realizing that Jesus had loved her all along.
When Sara returned inside, her face looked brighter, and her heart felt full in a way she had never known before. She smiled and said, "I think I understand now. Jesus loves me because I belong to Him, and I can talk to Him anytime. I want to know Him more and stay close to Him every day." Miss Anna hugged her gently, and Sara felt surrounded by a love so real, so tender, and so deep that by the end of the day, she was filled with Jesus’ love.
