Chapter 4 - Faith and Hope

The two little ants kept walking until they came to two large and very beautiful eagles.  The two eagles called to Daniel and Noah.

“Hello little ants!” they said. “We eagles can see very far away. When we fly up high in the sky, we can see where every road goes. We know that there are many roads that lead to very bad places. We also know that there is only one road that leads to a good place. Great job, Daniel and Noah!  You’ve chosen the Narrow Path that leads to the New Jerusalem! This is the path of life! Those who take the Narrow Path will never die!”

Noah began to feel sad. He remembered when his grandma died. His grandma loved him so much, and always used to give him lots of hugs and kisses. She always made his favorite desserts. And she is the one who taught him how to pray and always listen to Jesus’ voice. He missed her so much. He was sad that she had died, and he wanted to see her again.

The eagles knew what Noah was thinking and feeling.

“Don’t be sad, dear little ant,” one of the eagles said. “Even though you don’t see your grandma now, you are going to see her again. Jesus died on the cross so that peoples’ sins could be forgiven, and then God raised him from the dead and gave him a brand new body. Your grandma chose the Narrow Path when she asked Jesus to forgive her of her sins. And she stayed on the Narrow Path all of her life. So, when Jesus comes back, he is going to raise your grandma from the dead, just like he was raised from the dead! He is going to give her a brand new body! And she is going to shine like Jesus shines forever in the New Jerusalem!”

Noah smiled with a very big smile and felt very happy when he heard this news.

“But that’s not all,” the other eagle said. “Noah and Daniel, if you stay on the Narrow Path all the way to the New Jerusalem, and if you don’t give up when the cold time of winter comes, Jesus will raise you from the dead too when he comes back! He will give you brand new bodies that shine bright, bright, bright…and you will be with Jesus forever!”

Daniel and Noah began to dance, and laugh, and jump in a circle.  They started to sing, “We’re never gonna die! We’re never gonna die! We’re never gonna die!  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Then, both of the eagles lifted their wings high. Both eagles had some stickers under their wings. When they lifted their wings, the stickers fell to the ground.  One eagle had “faith” stickers, and the other eagle had “hope” stickers.

“Take these “faith” and “hope” stickers,” the eagles said, “and keep them with you wherever you go. Even during the hard time of winter that is coming, never ever stop having faith and hope. Even though you have to wait…wait…and wait…always remember what Jesus promised to do when he comes back. Though you don’t see it with your eyes yet, you will see it in the future. That’s what faith is: to really, really believe that Jesus will raise his people from the dead when he comes back. And this is your hope: that Jesus will make death go away forever. No one will ever die anymore. And Jesus will make all the wrong things right.”

Daniel and Noah took the “faith” and “hope” stickers and put them on their papers. They had new strength to stay on the Narrow Path. They waved goodbye to the eagles and started walking again.