A Friend of God

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, April 11.

By Gina Wahlen

Grandmother didn’t know what to do with nine-year-old Fabian.

In the morning, he put on his school uniform and said he was going to school. But then he skipped school to play with other boys who also were skipping school, and he returned home after school ended.

On Sabbath mornings, he put on his good clothes and went with Grandmother to church. But once they arrived for Sabbath School, he disappeared, and no one saw him until after the sermon had ended.

Sometimes Fabian didn’t even come home. He would disappear for three or four days, and no one would know where he had gone. Grandmother had to go to the police and say that her grandson was missing. Then the boy would return home as if nothing were wrong and say he had been visiting friends.

Grandmother was worried. She knew that Fabian was sad because his father had died and his mother didn’t take care of him. Grandmother had raised him since he was five years old. She wanted him to know and love God because she believed God knew and loved him. She prayed.

Then the Sabbath School teacher decided to become friends with Fabian. She noticed that he didn’t come very often to Sabbath School, so she went to his home to visit him.

“Come to Sabbath School next Sabbath,” she said.

Fabian went to Sabbath School the next Sabbath. Then he returned to Sabbath School the next Sabbath and the next. He enjoyed learning about Jesus, and he liked the activities in the Alive in Jesus Sabbath School program. The teacher gave him homework to do during the week. He completed it and turned it in on Sabbath.

One day, Fabian asked Grandmother if he could do the family worship that evening. Grandmother was surprised. He had never asked to do the family worship. She wondered if he could do it.

“I can do it very well,” Fabian assured her. “Just trust me.”

No one trusted Fabian very much because he had been a disobedient boy for such a long time.

But Grandmother decided to trust him.

“OK, you can do family worship,” she said.

A bright smile flashed across Fabian’s face.

That evening, he opened the Bible and read that Abraham was a friend of God. He read, “‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23, NKJV). Then he opened the book Patriarchs and Prophets and read more about how Abraham was a friend of God.

Grandmother listened with astonishment as Fabian said, “I also want to be a friend of God. I believe God, and I want to obey Him.”

Then he prayed. It was a prayer unlike any Grandmother had ever heard. He confessed all his sins out loud. He told God about doing many bad things that Grandmother didn’t even know he had done. He asked God to forgive him and make him a good boy.

“From today, I give my life to Jesus Christ,” he said. “I want to be like my Sabbath School teacher who is teaching me to be a better person. I want to teach other children to be good just like my teacher has done for me. God, help me from now on. I want to be a good boy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

That day was a turning point in Fabian’s life. He began to pray and read his Bible every day to become better friends with God. He spent more time with Grandmother and other good people who loved God. He never missed church again. The boy who was the least likely to be found in church became the boy who was most likely to be found in church. He even brought a friend to church.

The change in Fabian was so big that Grandma went to his Sabbath School to hear what he was learning.

Today, Fabian is 10 years old. It can be said of Fabian that he believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.

One of the mission projects for this quarter is the Zanzibar Seventh-day Adventist Dispensary, a clinic in Fabian’s country of Tanzania. Thank you for giving generously to this important project.