The Disobedient Dino

It was the day he had been waiting for, his eighth birthday! James couldn't wait to open his gifts. He had been asking for a Robo Dino for months and was certain he would not be disappointed. He couldn't wait to train it to sit, roll over, do his chores, and roar at his sister. With his family watching, he tore into a large wrapped box, and there it was--Robo Dino! "Yessss!" James cried. "Thank you! Can I start training him now?""Sure," said Dad, laughing. "But don't you want to open your other gifts?"After opening a block set from his sister and new art supplies from his grandparents, James began Robo Dino's training."Sit!" he commanded his new toy. The dino roared. "Roll over!" James called out. The dino leapt into the air and wagged its tail--like he wanted to fetch. "Roar!" James yelled, becoming frustrated. The robot lay down and began snoozing. "This is not going well," James said. He tried again and again to get the dino to obey his commands, but the robot did not want to cooperate. He seemed to do everything except what James wanted him to do!"What's wrong with this thing?" said James. "Mom, my dinosaur is broken!" "James," Mom replied, "did you try reading the instructions? They came with the dino to help you teach it to do the right things. If you read the instructions, I'm sure this training will be much easier.""Yeah, guess I should have read the manual first," said James."You know, this makes me think of what we talked about in church this week," said Mom. "God gives us directions in the Bible for how we should live as Christians and show others His love. But unlike the booklet that came with your dino, the Bible is much more than an instruction manual. It's the living Word of God, and as we read it and learn about what it says, the Holy Spirit helps us understand its truth and reminds us of God's love. As He works in our hearts to make us more like Jesus, He uses God's Word to teach us to listen and obey--not the opposite, like your dino!" James smiled. "I guess I have a lot of reading to do!" he said, then sat down and began to read Robo Dino's instructions. –Christy Mazer