Bible Fairy Tales?

Bible Fairy Tales?

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

Revelation 3:20

It is always interesting to me how folks tend to get Bible stories and other kinds of facts and fiction intertwined. I remember hearing about one little girl who was relating the story of Jezebel. She said Jezebel fell out of a window, her insides spilled out all over the ground, and people gathered up twelve basketfuls of pieces. Hmmm. I don’t think that’s exactly how it happened.

Sometimes we even mix up Bible stories and commercials we hear. For instance, one little boy said he knew Jesus rode a motorcycle. When his teacher asked him how he knew that, he pointed out that the Bible says, “He rode around in great triumph.” It does say that, of course, but . . .

At age three, one little girl began to learn all the traditional fairy tales, such as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “The Three Little Pigs.” Her mother and father taught her the familiar Bible stories as well, such as “Noah and the Ark,” “Daniel in the Lions’ Den,” and “David and Goliath.” And the young girl’s mind was like a sponge, soaking up all these stories and trying to understand and assimilate them.

One day her mother read to her Revelation 3:20, which says, “Look! I stand at the door and knock.” When finished reading the verse to the little girl, her mother asked, “If Jesus is knocking at your heart’s door, will you open the door and let him in?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the little girl answered, “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!”

O Lord, we love the wonderful stories in your Word. Please help us to read them often enough that we can remember them accurately and apply their lessons to our lives. Amen.