Object suggested: A jellybean.

Picture of kangaroo with joey in pouch is available online at:
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Picture+of+kangaroo+with+joey+in+pouch

Kangaroos are such interesting animals. When a baby kangaroo is born it is about the size of a jelly bean and weighs less than one ounce. (Show jellybean, but don’t give jellybeans to the children. Possible choking hazard with small children.) After birth, the baby kangaroo, called a joey, crawls into its mother’s pouch. The baby kangaroo is born blind and uses its sense of smell to find its way into the pouch. Sometimes mother licks a path on her fur and this helps the joey locate the pouch.

Once inside mother’s pouch the baby kangaroo has everything it needs to live; the joey nurses and receives milk without having to leave the pouch. In that cozy environment the baby is supported and kept warm.

The reason we are talking about these interesting kangaroos is to help you understand a word that may be new to you. The word is abide. Abide means to “stay with” or “live with.” You can see that baby kangaroos live very close to their mothers. A joey must live inside the pouch (abide with its mother) and depend on mother to provide everything it needs.

In the Bible we read the words that Jesus spoke while he lived on earth and he says,

“Remain (abide)in me, and I in you” (15:4). He is speaking to all of us and asking us to live very close to God so God can provide for our needs. When we live close to (abide with) God we are supported and kept warm.

We stay close to God by studying his words, which are found in the Bible, and praying often. God’s spirit lives in us as we abide in him.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2007, Richard Niell Donovan