But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.-Luke 18:16

              The Strange Old Man

In the town where little Jacob lived, was an old man.

The man wore old clothes, and was always walking, walking, walking around town by himself.

It didn't matter whether it was snowy and cold, or hot, or wet. Anytime of day or night the old man could be seen walking everywhere. He never bothered anyone, and nobody knew anything about him, who he was, or where he came from, or even what his name was.

Jacob thought that he was a very strange old man.

One day, Jacob asked his parents about the old man, and his dad said that he was probably poor and harmless, but not to trust him anyway.

Jacob was satisfied with that answer, and didn't think about the man anymore.

 Jacob was old enough to ride his bike into town, but his mom didn't want him to go by himself. One day he wanted to ride into town to buy some baseball cards, but none of his friends were around that day, and his big brother was busy. His younger brothers and sister were too young to go with him, so he asked his mom if he could please, please ride to town by himself, if he promised to be extra careful.

His mom hesitated, and thought for a while, then said, yes, he may go. She told him to make sure he went straight to the store, then come straight home, and Jacob promised that he would.

He happily got on his bike, and started riding to town. The store was about a mile from his house, and there were sidewalks almost all the way, except for a short piece where there were woods along a deep ditch with big rocks in it. Jacob was always careful riding by that bushy place. On this day, though, he was thinking about the special cards he wanted to buy, and didn't see the sharp rock that was on the side of the road. Before he could turn his wheel, his bike hit the rock, and spun him into the ditch. Poor Jacob fell, rolling down over and over, and as he fell, he heard his bike crashing down the hill too. He was rolling so fast, that he couldn't stop himself, even when he saw a huge rock coming up in front of him.

That was the last thing he remembered.

After awhile, he opened his eyes, and as he woke up, he was amazed that he wasn't hurt at all!

He blinked a few times, trying to remember what had happened. As Jacob's eyes focused, he saw that someone was standing over him. It was the strange old man that was always wandering around town!

Jacob felt frightened at first, but there was something about the man that made him know that he was safe with him. The man asked, "are you ok, sonny?"

Jabob nodded his head, and answered, "yes, I think so, but what happened?"

The old man said gently, "you were about to be hurt very badly."

"But I am fine, I'm not hurt", answered Jacob.

"Yes," said the man, "because I was there to catch you. It is my job to take care of you, Jacob."

"H-how did you know my name? Who are you?" Poor Jacob was very confused.

The old man had a very peaceful smile on his face as he asked, "Jacob, do you believe in God?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Jacob, do you believe that God sends angels to His children?"

Jacob didn't know how to answer that question. But there was something different about that strange old man, something so very kind, that he finally whispered, "yes, I do believe that. You are not strange or bad, you are very kind. Did God send you?"

The old man smiled, and said, "Yes, Jacob, He did send me, because He loves you very much.  Now, you better be on your way home, sonny, your mother will be worried about you."

Jacob looked around for his bike. He had heard it crashing down the hill, and thought for sure it would be smashed.

But there, leaning against a tree stood his bike! It was fine! The stranger must have fixed the bike!

As the boy turned to thank the old man, Jacob saw that he was alone. Where did the old man go?

Jacob rode home as fast as he could. He was so excited, and couldn't wait to tell his mother all that had happened. His mother was so happy that he was safe, and they thanked God together for sending an angel to help him.

Months and years went by, and Jacob never did see the old man again, but he knew that God sends angels to watch over him.

There is point to this story:

We should never judge people by how they look, or how they seem to be.

The Bible tells us that sometimes we may receive angels without even knowing it! It is important then, that we should be kind to everyone.

It is also very important to know first of all, that you should NEVER trust strangers, and neither should you talk to them. When you are an adult, you may receive strangers as the Lord leads you.

Just think, you may very well be with angels, and not know it!

Be happy, be good, and be blessed!

Matthew Abrahams