True Story

Bible Reading: Psalm 27:1-3; Isaiah 41:10

“Ow!” yelped Avery. “Quit pinching me, Levi!”

“It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and you’re not wearing green,” said Levi. “That means you get pinched!”

“I am wearing green!” Avery insisted. “My shirt is green. You just can’t see it because my sweater is covering it up.” She turned to her mother. “Mom, why do people wear green on St. Patrick’s Day?”

“It’s because he was from Ireland, the Emerald Isle,” said Levi. “And St. Patrick found a four-leaf clover, which was green, and he drove all the snakes out of Ireland and—”

“Hold on, Levi,” said Mom. “Patrick actually grew up in England but was captured by Irish raiders as a teenager. He was a prisoner for several years and became a Christian during that time. When he finally escaped, he returned to England, but eventually went back to Ireland to tell people about Jesus.”

“But what about the stories of him finding four-leaf clovers and driving snakes out of Ireland?” asked Levi.

“Those are fables, though I’ve read that he used a three-leaf clover to help people understand the Trinity,” said Mom. “Just because you hear people say things doesn’t mean they’re true. The truth often gets covered up by what people want to believe.”

“Like how Avery’s sweater is hiding her green shirt?” asked Levi.

Mom nodded. “It’s not just St. Patrick’s story that people get wrong. A lot of people believe wrong things about Jesus too. They think He was just a good man who was killed for standing up for what He believed, but that’s not true at all. He was and is God, and He died to take the punishment for our sins and then rose again to give us eternal life. That’s what the Bible tells us, and it’s the truth.”

“And that’s what Patrick went to tell the people in Ireland, right?” asked Levi.

“Yes,” said Mom. “He didn’t go back to the land where he was held captive to tell people about a good man. He went back to tell them about the loving God who became human and died so they could be forgiven—and who helped Patrick forgive those who wronged him so they could know the truth. That’s the true story of St. Patrick’s day.”

–Jennifer Quakenbush