JEFFIE AND GRANDPA (STORY TAKEN FROM INTERNET)

Jeffie was in his playpen and he was crying. Tears were rolling down his little cheeks; his face was red as it could be. He was crying, and he looked pitiful in his little baseball T-shirt and a diaper. 

Then Jeffie's Grandpa entered the room; Jeffie's little face lit up when he saw his Grandpa! He immediately reached out his little arms in supplication and said "Out Pa Pa out." 

What is a Grandpa to do? How can someone resist that? So Grandpa went over to the playpen, he bent over. He reached down to lift his little buddy from captivity and distress . . 

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Just then "Law and Order" walked into the room. Momma said "Jeffie, you stay right there! I'm punishing you because you have been naughty! Dad, leave Jeffie alone!" 

Grandpa backs off and is thinking, "I can't just pick up a book and read it with Jeffie here. He would think I was uncaring and distant. I can't leave the room because he would feel like I have abandoned him." 

But you know what? Love always finds a way. Since Grandpa couldn't take Jeffie out of the playpen, Grandpa climbed in with Jeffie! Grandpa said "If you are in the playpen buddy, I'm in the playpen too. What are you in for? What is your sentence?" 

Having Grandpa Join him in his "prison cell" brought Jeffie great comfort and joy. In the midst of his captivity, Jeffie no longer felt so alone. 

What Jeffie's Grandpa did is also a picture of what Jesus Christ did for us when He came to Earth as a baby. God the Father yearned to reach down into our "playpen of captivity" and pull us out. He could not . . . because of our disobedience . . . because of our sin. What did God do?

God climbed into our "playpen" with us! When Jesus Christ entered into our "playpen of captivity," He took the sin and disobedience that should have been ours alone; releasing us from our captivity . . . allowing us the opportunity to experience the fullness of life God has for us! The message is simple, clear and personal: God with us . . . He loves you so much He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ!

My dear young friends, Even as you are struggling in the path of discomfort and sorrow, remember that you are not alone and Jesus Christ is with you. He will pull you out from the path of sorrow and fill your life with His joy.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18 (NIV)