Genesis 2:7; John 3:3-7

“Mom, what’s a ‘living soul’?” Kelly asked. “Part of my memory verse for next Sunday says, ‘man became a living soul.'”

Kelly’s mother was mixing up some pancake batter for their breakfast. She paused for a moment, and then said, “Well, God gave each one of us a living soul. We can’t see a soul or touch it, but … ” Her mother thought for a minute. Then she pointed to an egg on the counter. “Kelly, tell me what that egg looks like.”

Kelly looked puzzled but she said, “Well, it’s white, and kind of roundish, only not exactly . . .”

Her mother nodded. “That’s right. You are telling me what you see with your eyes. You are describing the shell of the egg. But the really important part of the egg is inside the shell, isn’t it? And you can’t see that, can you?

“In a way, that is like a soul,” she continued. “Kelly, when I look at you I see a pretty girl, with freckles and strawberry blond braids. But I can’t see the real you with my eyes. That is your soul. But I know it is there because that is the way God talks to a person, through the soul. It is the most important part of you. And it will live forever and ever!

“When your Sunday school teacher talked to you about giving your heart to Jesus, she was talking about your soul. If Jesus lives in your soul you are a Christian. You will feel a real love for Jesus and will live for Him here on earth. And, Kelly, when a Christian dies, his soul is the part that goes to live with Jesus in Heaven.”

Kelly nodded slowly. “I think I understand now, Mom. I love Jesus very much. He makes me feel happy deep inside. I love to sing the Sunday school songs about Jesus. And I feel good whenever I pray and talk to Jesus. Is that my soul that wants to praise and sing about Jesus?” Kelly asked.

“That’s it, Kelly,” her mother answered. “Aren’t you glad that you gave your life to Jesus? Now you can work for Him while you live here on earth. You can tell all of your friends that Jesus loves them and that He can make them happy too.”

“Yes,” Kelly nodded. “And I’m even more happy that I will live with Jesus in Heaven someday! Mom, I’m so thankful Jesus gave me a soul that will last forever.”

PARENT’S CORNER

In this lesson we will explore the fact that God gave man a living soul. This is something that is a bit difficult to explain to the primary-age child. Perhaps a definition your child could grasp is that your soul is the part of you created especially to love and worship God, and the part that will live on forever.

Our memory verse for this lesson is quite long. Work with your child so he will be able to say it from memory. Play some games together to achieve this goal. Divide the verse into six or seven sections (including the reference). Write each section of the verse on an index card. Arrange the cards in order. Say the verse together then remove a card or two and see if your child can still say the verse. Continue removing more and more of the cards.

For a variation, try shuffling the cards together and timing your child to see how long it takes him to put them into the proper sequence.