God's Zoo

Read: Matthew 7:7-12

"Why does she get to ride when I have to walk?” Caden whined. “It’s not fair!”

“Your sister is only two; her legs aren’t as long or as strong as yours,” Mom replied, parking the stroller in front of the two-toed sloth exhibit.

Caden continued to pout. “Emma gets all the attention too! You treat her better than you treat me. You must love her more!”

“Caden, that’s not true!” Mom sounded hurt. “You know I love you and your brothers and sister with all my heart.”

“Then why don’t you treat us the same?”

Mom pointed to the exhibit. “Do you see the zookeeper feeding the sloth?” Caden nodded. “What’s she feeding it?” asked Mom.

“Looks like fruit.”

Mom nodded. “What did the zookeeper at the penguin exhibit fed the penguins?”

“Fish, right?”

“That’s right. What would happen if this zookeeper tried to feed fish to the sloth?”

“Mom, sloths don’t eat fish. They live in trees!” Caden laughed.

“Right again.” Mom smiled. “Different animals eat different foods and live in different habitats because they have different needs. Good zookeepers treat all the animals differently because they care for all of them.”

Caden glanced at his little sister, who had fallen asleep. “Emma and I aren’t different kinds of animals.”

“No,” Mom replied, “but you are different people, and sometimes you have different needs. Emma needs help with things like holding her cup and turning a doorknob, but sometimes you need help with things like math homework and piano practice.”

Mom, Caden, and his brothers watched in fascination as the sloth munched languidly on an apple slice. “I think God is kind of like a zookeeper,” Mom said. “He knows exactly what each of His children needs. We may not always get what we ask for when we pray, but He always provides for our needs. He provided for our greatest need of all by sending Jesus to save us from sin, and we can trust Him to provide for each of our specific needs too.”

“Hey! Give that back!” Caden’s brother snatched the cap off his head and ran off with it, causing Emma to start crying.

“Sometimes I feel like a zookeeper too,” Mom mused as the family moved on to the next exhibit.

–Suzanne Felton

How about you? Do you think it’s unfair when you’re treated differently than your brothers, sisters, or classmates? Adults who care about you know that different people often have different needs, and it’s because they love you that they treat you differently. God knows us and loves us more than anyone else. Even when He answers His children’s prayers differently, He always gives us what we need.

Today's Key Verse And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (NIV) Philippians 4:19

Today's Key Thought God gives us what we need