Christ Jesus loved little children. He also loved to tell stories to children and grown-ups. His stories are called parables.

Once he told about a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. ^{See Matt. 18:12–14; Luke 15:4–7.} A hundred sheep can be a lot of animals to watch over, and every day the shepherd counted his sheep, to be sure they were all there. Every day he counted them until he came to a hundred.

One day when counting, the shepherd got as far as ninety-nine, and found the hundredth was not there. One sheep was missing from the fold! Somewhere it had wandered away from the rest of the sheep and got lost.

The shepherd loved all his sheep, and they were valuable. He couldn't leave even one lost and alone. It could be very cold in the hills at night. A wild animal could come out of the woods and attack the lost sheep. The shepherd knew this, so he left the ninety-nine sheep to look for the one that was lost.

As he went, perhaps he called out to the lost sheep. The sheep in Bible times knew their shepherd's voice, and they came when they heard it. 

When the shepherd found the lost one at last, he was so happy he picked it up and laid it gently across his shoulders. He was glad it was safe.

Our Father-Mother God is like the shepherd in the parable. God knows every one of His children, like a shepherd who knows his sheep. God watches over His children carefully, night and day. Not one of His little ones can ever be lost, or out of reach of our Father-Mother's loving arms.

Because God is Love, He is everywhere. He fills all space. So His love is with you right now—and with me, too—and with everyone everywhere. We are the sheep of His pasture.

A boy named Allan liked this parable, and once it helped him. He had wandered too far from home one day and got into a big cow pasture where his mother had told him never to go. A bull and some cows started to move toward him. He was frightened until he remembered about the shepherd caring for the lost sheep.

He thought that divine Love must be watching over him, too, even if he was lost in a cow pasture. Allan saw a pile of rocks and climbed to the top where the cows couldn't reach him. But the cows wouldn't go away. They kept coming close to the rocks. Allan waited and waited. He was very cold, and it was beginning to get dark.

Allan thought again about God as ever-present Love, caring for him. He decided to pray for help. He closed his eyes tightly and prayed as hard as he knew how, not to be afraid of the cows so he could go home. He was thinking about the way God keeps all His children safe, and kept him safe, too. He didn't feel so afraid anymore. When he opened his eyes again, the cows were all turning and walking away from him. Allan was so surprised he scrambled down from the pile of rocks and ran home as fast as he could. He was so happy telling his mother what had happened. "I prayed hard, Mom, and God heard me!"