Once upon a time in a peculiar kingdom where the trees could whisper, and the rivers could giggle, a bunch of exuberant young critters, a bunny named Bo, a squirrel named Sam, and a porcupine named Patty, decided to venture on an exciting forest trip.
They laughed and sang their way into the vast, bewitching forest.
Unfortunately, these merry friends soon found themselves lost amidst the tall, shadowy trees, with the sun nowhere in sight.
The rivers stopped giggling, and the trees were eerily silent. They wandered for days, hungry, thirsty, and utterly frightened. Their normally fluffy and bristling tails sagged low.
On the third day, Patty slumped against a tree, hope draining out of her prickly body. Just then, they heard footsteps. They looked up to see the park ranger, a wise old owl named Oliver, striding towards them.
Oliver hooted, "You're safe now. I've been looking for you for days." The critters sighed in relief and followed him out of the forest. During the journey, Oliver offered, "I run a survival skills class every Saturday. Would you like to join?" The critters, realizing the value of this training, nodded eagerly.
Later, as they sat around a cozy fire, munching on warm acorn soup, Bo, the bunny asked, "Oliver, why did you save us?"
The wise old owl smiled and replied, "You know, there's an old verse from a book in my world that says, 'He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. That's from the bible in a bible book called Colossians, chapter one verse thirteen..' Just as I rescued you, Jesus rescues us from the darkness of sin. This is salvation - God's rescue operation."
The critters, huddled together, listened attentively. Sam the squirrel squeaked, "Once we're saved, we're saved forever, right? We can never get unrescued?"
Oliver nodded, "That's right, Sam. Salvation is an eternal gift."
"But then what's this training for, Oliver?" Patty the porcupine asked.
Oliver responded, "Ah, that, my dear Patty, is discipleship. It's much like the survival training I offered you. You remember this verse: 'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations... teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. That's from Matthew twenty-eight, verse 19 through 20.' It's like this: After you're rescued, you have the chance to learn how to help others who are lost. That's discipleship."
The critters' eyes sparkled in the firelight. They pledged then and there to use their training to help other lost critters. They decided to use their lessons of salvation and discipleship to lead others from the darkness into the light.
And so, they would spend every Saturday morning with Oliver, learning the survival skills of life and faith, giggling, laughing, and becoming the best disciples they could be. They knew they had been rescued, and now it was their turn to help others.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (Colossians 1:13)
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:19–20)
