Far away, on a quiet red desert, a little traveler stood under a big hat. His name was Zack. Once he was called Captain Zylok, a pirate among the stars. He took what was not his. He ran from the light. One eye was covered by a worn patch. One leg was made of metal. The old life had left its marks.

Then Zack heard about Jesus.

He did not earn a new start. He did not fix the patch or the leg and hope that was enough. He believed the Good News. Jesus died for sinners and rose again. Zack asked the Lord to forgive him, and the Lord did. The old name fell away. He became Zack the Redeemed.

Now he keeps a small book close. On the cover it says “Good News.” It is the Bible.

One evening the sky was turning gold. A pale moon hung over the hills. Zack set the book on a stone and read out loud, slow and clear.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16, NKJV.

He shut the book and smiled with his one good eye.

“I was the one who was perishing,” he said. “Jesus found me anyway.”

He tapped the metal knee, gentle, not ashamed.

“This leg still creaks. The patch still covers what the old days took. But I am new on the inside. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new.” That is 2 Corinthians 5:17.

A small wind moved the torn coat. Zack picked up the book, set his hat straight, and looked down the empty road.

“Tomorrow,” he said, “if a lost one comes this way, I will tell them what Jesus did for me.”

Then he walked on, one boot and one metal foot, the Good News held tight.

A word for the children: You do not have to be from the stars to need Jesus. You only have to be a sinner, and we all are. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.

A word for the grown-ups

Zack read one verse. The rest of the story is in the same chapter.

John 3:16–21 is the light of God’s love. God loved the world in this way: He gave His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

There are three simple things in those verses.

The world. God’s love is for all of us, not a few.

The choice. Believe in Jesus, and you are not condemned. Refuse Him, and you are condemned already.

The light. Jesus is the light. Some love the darkness. The one who does the truth comes to the light.

If you want to hear that preached, here is the sermon from our ministry: Being Born Again: The Light of God’s Love. It is John 3:16–21, about 37 minutes, on SermonAudio.

Children, you may listen too. It is the same Good News Zack carries in his book.