Excerpt from Bella's Tales of Jesus
“The humans are a mess.”
Bella, a beautiful Golden Retriever dog, looked up, startled.
“Humans. They’re a mess,” repeated Freddy, looking glum. Freddy was one of Bella’s three puppies. He had the same silky, reddish-blonde fur, and big brown eyes as Bella.
“You’re not wrong,” Bella answered with a grin. Her eyes sparkled with delight. Freddy always made her smile with his comments on the world around him. “But why do you say that?”
Freddy shook his head. “I was in the farmhouse with the Farmer and Mrs. Farmer. They were talking about terrible things happening in the world and even near the farm! The Farmer is worried about the crops and prices dropping. Mrs. Farmer is worried about the prices going up at the stores! It doesn’t make sense. I just know that they are unhappy and worried.”
“I understand,” Bella said, giving Freddy a nuzzle. “Humans have a lot of things to deal with that we don’t have to worry about.”
“How do they do it?” Freddy asked.
“What else did the Farmer say?” Bella asked. “How did they end the talk?”
“That’s the strangest part, Momma! They said, ‘No matter what… God is with us.’ And then they bowed their heads and said some words I couldn’t hear very well. It sounded like they were talking to someone called Jesus. But Momma… no one else was there!”
Freddy and his dog family loved the Farmer and his human family. The Farmer family took good care of their animals. Freddy could feel the worry that they were feeling. His perky ears drooped, and his bright eyes were clouded. His usually wagging tail hung low.
Bella pulled him to her and wrapped her long legs around him.
“I know you’re feeling the worry that the Farmer and his family feel, Freddy. The way you feel what others feel is one of the things I love most about you,” she said. “And it’s true that they are going through some hard times right now. And it’s also true that there are things in the world that are scary. But the humans have help. Jesus, the one you heard them talking to, is their special help.”
“But where WAS he, Momma! I told you there was no one there.”
“His spirit was there, Freddy. They could feel him. Jesus is a part of God, the creator of everything.” She nuzzled Freddy’s nose. “I know it’s confusing. If you’d like, I can tell you and your sisters some stories about Jesus. I think it will help you know Jesus and how much he loves and helps the humans.”
“Does he love and help dogs, too?”
“Jesus and God created everything – the entire world and everything in it… including farm dogs! So, yes, I believe that he loves us and helps us, too. Most animals just don’t know about him.”
“I want to know him, Momma! Will you teach us?”
“I will,” Bella said, smiling, happy to see the worry lifting from Freddy’s face. His tail started wagging a bit. “Tonight, for story time, I’ll tell you a story about Jesus.”
Freddy gave Bella a lick across her nose, giggled, and then bounded out of the barn to find his sisters to tell them the news.
Chapter TwoThat evening, Bella gathered her three pups around her in the barn. The barn was their home on the farm. It was warm and cozy. Freddy and his sisters Abby and Emma were active, growing pups. Bella had started a nightly story time for them a few months earlier when they were very small puppies. Bella had struggled night after night to get them to settle at night for bedtime. But the puppies just wanted to play. Play! Play! Play!
One day, Bella remembered the stories she had loved as a pup. That night, she chose her favorite fable, a kind of story, and told it to the puppies. They loved it. Every night since then, Bella and her puppies spent every evening snuggled up while she told them stories. Every night, the puppies went right to sleep after story time. Bella was happy to get some rest. They were all happy to have a special time together every night.
“Tonight, I am going to tell you a new story,” she began.
The three puppies curled up together and looked at her with eager eyes.
“Freddy told us there are stories about someone named Jesus,” Abby said. Even though the puppies were all the same age, Abby had taken the role of big sister. She liked to take care of her brother and sister.
“Who is that?” Emma asked. Freddy had told her earlier, but she had forgotten. Emma had lots of thoughts in her head and sometimes had trouble keeping them straight.
“Jesus is the one who helps the humans,” Freddy said. “Remember?”
“Oh, yes,” Emma said. “I think so. Go ahead, Momma!”
“Before I tell you about Jesus, I want to tell you about God,” Bella said.
Creation
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was nothing. No trees, no animals, no people, no sun or moon or stars. There was just darkness and emptiness.
“Oh no!” cried Emma. “That sounds awful!”
Bella nodded and continued.
But then something amazing happened. God, who had always existed, decided to create everything!
He said, "Let there be light," and suddenly there was light in the darkness! He created the sun to shine during the day and the moon and stars to shine at night. But he didn't stop there.
Next, he created the land and the sea, the plants and all the animals, big and small, furry, and scaly. He made birds to fly in the sky and fish to swim in the sea.
But God wasn’t finished. He created the humans, too! He made them in his own image, which means that they have a special bond with God. He gave them the ability to love and to think and to create. And that's how everything came to be. God created it all.
“God created the Farmer and his family?” Abby asked.
“Yes.”
“God created the farm?” Emma asked.
“Well, yes, he did!”
“God created you, Momma?” Freddy asked.
“Yes, I guess He did!” Bella laughed.
“I’m so glad that he created you, Momma!” Freddy scooted closer to Bella, snuggling in between her front legs. She wrapped her legs around him in a tight hug.
“And I’m glad he created you, Freddy,” she said. “You and Emma and Abby!”
“Tell us more,” cried Abby and Emma.
Bella continued.
Over time, more and more humans came into the world. God wants everyone to love Him and to be good, but he wants the humans to choose this, so he gave them something called free will. That means they have a choice. Many humans choose to be good like God wants them to be. But some choose not to be good. When the humans choose to do bad things, it’s called a sin. Sin keeps the humans separate from God. God hates sin, but he loves all of the humans, even the ones who sin.
“But what about Jesus?” Abby asked. “You haven’t told us about Jesus yet.”
“I will,” Bella said. “I want you to know why God sent Jesus to the humans first.”
“Why?”
“Jesus is God’s gift to the humans. Even when humans try very hard, they are never good enough to be with God. Jesus is the special way God created that lets the humans be with God anyway.
“Where is God?” Emma asked.
“God lives in a kingdom beyond the sky called Heaven,” Bella said. “But the humans say that his spirit is on Earth too. Some say that he lives in their hearts.”
“Their hearts!?” Freddy asked with a gasp. “Hearts are where love is, right Momma?” Bella nodded. “That means God is love!”
“That’s right, Freddy!”
“Will you tell us more?” Abby asked.
“A bit more,” Bella said. “And then it’s time for sleep.”
The puppies nodded. They lay together with Abby’s head on Emma’s side, Emma’s foot on Freddy’s foot, and Freddy’s tail wrapped around Abby’s tail.
“The stories I’m telling you were passed down from human to human. They are found in a book called The Bible. This part of the Bible story takes place in a land called Israel, far across the sea. This was still very long ago but a lot of time had passed since Creation.
A lot of things had happened, and things weren’t going so well for the humans,” Bella said.
I hope you've enjoyed this excerpt from Bella's Tales of Jesus.