NOVEMBER 10, Mark 10:14

“Yesu yana kaunar yara,” sang Allison.

“What language is that?” asked her friend Jill, with a grin. “Like my
 Grandma always says when she doesn’t understand something… it’s Greek to me!” Allison laughed. “It’s not Greek, it’s Hausa,” she said. “I learnt the song from my Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve, who are missionaries in Nigeria.” “What does it mean?” Jill wanted to know. Allison smiled. “It means, ‘Jesus, He loves the children,’” she explained.

“Oh, that’s almost the same as a song Mom taught me!” exclaimed Jill. “It’s called ‘Jesus Loves the Little Children.’ The tune sounded familiar too.” Allison nodded. “Aunt Mary teaches a class of Nigerian girls who are the same age as we are. She says one girl reminds her of me.”

Jill laughed. “Really?” she asked. “My dad always teases me and says I’m one-of-a-kind. How are you and the other girl alike?”

“Well, Aunt Mary says one way we’re alike is that we both love God. And she says we act so much alike,” replied Allison. “We’re going to write to each other, and Aunt Mary will translate for us. It’ll be fun having a Nigerian pen pal.”

“Cool! I guess maybe we’re not really as different from kids in other countries as we think we are,” observed Jill. Allison shook her head. “Aunt Mary always reminds me that we’re all the same to the Lord,” she said. “He loves Nigerian children, and all the children in the world, just like He loves us.”

“Right,” agreed Jill, “just like your song said. How did that go? Sing it again.” Allison sang the strange words, and she laughed as Jill tried it too. “That’s okay. You can laugh at me,” said Jill. She grinned and added, “I bet the Nigerians would laugh at you!”

“Probably,” agreed Allison, “but who cares? God understands, even when we mispronounce all these words. It’s not Greek to Him.”“Let’s make it a duet,” suggested Jill. And they did.

Thought: Did you know there are children all over the world who love the Lord?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that Your love reaches children in every country in the world. It is so wonderful to know that Jesus died for all of us, and that He loves all the children everywhere, just like He loves me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.