Jamie sat in Sunday School, feeling puzzled. His teacher, Ms. Sarah, had just told the class about heaven and how Jesus wants everyone to be with Him someday.

“Kids, Jesus loves you very much and wants you to be with Him in heaven,” Ms. Sarah had said.

While the other kids colored pictures of angels, Jamie just stared at his blank paper. Something was bothering him.

After class, Jamie’s grandpa came to pick him up.

“What’s up, buddy? You look like you’re thinking hard about something,” Grandpa said as they walked through the park.

“Grandpa, do people only believe in God because they’re scared of not going to heaven?” Jamie asked.

“That’s a really good question,” Grandpa said. “Let’s sit on this bench for a minute.”

They sat down, and Grandpa pulled out his keys. On his keychain was a tiny flashlight.

“Jamie, pretend we’re going camping in the woods tonight,” Grandpa said. “It gets very dark there. You can’t see where to walk. There are bumpy spots that might make you trip, and puddles you might step in.”

Jamie nodded. He didn’t like the dark very much.

“Now, what if I have this flashlight,” Grandpa held up his keychain, “and I say, ‘Jamie, follow me and my light, and I’ll keep you safe.’ Would you follow me?”

“Yes!” Jamie said right away.

“Why would you follow me?” Grandpa asked.

Jamie thought about it. “Because it’s dark and I might fall down if I can’t see.”

“That’s right,” Grandpa smiled. “Would you follow me because you’re scared of the dark, or because you trust me to help you?”

“Both, I guess,” Jamie said. “The dark is scary, but I know you’d help me not get hurt.”

“That’s a lot like why we follow God,” Grandpa explained. “Life can be like those dark woods sometimes. We can make mistakes or get hurt—the Bible calls those mistakes ‘sins.’ God is like someone with a flashlight who knows the safe way to go.”

“But what if someone doesn’t follow the flashlight?” Jamie asked.

“Well,” Grandpa said, “imagine if I said, ‘Don’t walk that way—there’s a big hole there!’ but someone didn’t believe me and walked that way anyway. What would happen?”

“They’d fall in the hole,” Jamie said.

“Right. And would that be because I was being mean to them?”

Jamie shook his head. “No, they just didn’t listen to your warning.”

“Exactly,” Grandpa nodded. “God’s rules aren’t to be mean or scary. They’re like a map to keep us safe and happy.”

Jamie picked up a stick and drew in the dirt. “So God doesn’t want us to be scared of Him?”

“Not at all,” Grandpa said. “Think about it this way—do you clean up your toys just because you’re afraid of getting in trouble?”

Jamie grinned. “Sometimes.”

“But isn’t your room better when it’s clean? You can find your favorite toys, and you don’t step on painful blocks.”

“That’s true,” Jamie said.

“God’s rules are like that,” Grandpa explained. “At first, we might follow them because we’re told to. But then we see that life works better when we do. God doesn’t give us rules to be bossy—He gives them because He loves us and knows what’s best for us.”

Grandpa clicked on his little flashlight. “People who don’t want to follow the flashlight in the dark can choose not to. But if they bump into trees or fall down, it’s not the flashlight’s fault, is it?”

“No,” Jamie said.

“And the best part is,” Grandpa added, “even when people walk away from God’s light, He keeps calling to them because He loves them so much.”

Jamie smiled. “So we should follow God because He knows the best way to go, not just because we’re scared?”

“You got it,” Grandpa said. “Being afraid might make some people first look at God’s light, but love is why they stay with Him. It’s like when you were scared of thunder last summer, so you came to sit with me. You came because you were scared, but you stayed because you felt safe and loved.”

As they got up to walk home, Jamie held Grandpa’s hand.

“I think I get it now,” Jamie said. “God is more like someone with a flashlight helping us than someone making scary rules.”

“That’s right,” Grandpa smiled. “And the more you walk with Him, the more you’ll see how His light makes everything better.”

That night, as Mom tucked Jamie into bed, he told her about what Grandpa had said.

“Mom,” he said with a yawn, “I want to follow God because He helps me find the good path, not because I’m scared.”

Mom smiled and kissed his forehead. “That’s a wonderful way to think about it, Jamie. God loves you so much, and His rules are to keep you safe and happy.”

As Jamie fell asleep, he imagined God holding a bright flashlight, showing the way through a dark forest. Instead of feeling scared, Jamie felt happy knowing someone so loving was showing him the way.

THE END