The Adventures of Jesus Christ
Episodes from the Life of Jesus for Young Readers
by Vincent Cheung
[ Contents ]

Chapter 1. Jesus and the Word
THERE’S ONLY THE FATHER, SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

In the beginning, before the earth was created, before there were people, before there were angels, before there were trees, and rocks, and animals, there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. This Word is Jesus, the Son of God, who existed from the very start of all things.

Imagine a vast and endless void, a space where nothing existed. There was no light, no sound, and no life. There was not a thing. In fact, even this space you imagine did not exist. Yet the Word was there. He was not lonely. He was not empty. He was there in perfect unity with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

The Word was full of power, and wisdom, and love. He was full of life, and he was creative. Everything that would come into being was created through him. The Bible says, “All things were made through him, and nothing was made except through him.” Every planet and every star, including the sun and the moon, was created through the Word. Every land, every river, and every creature that would eventually roam the earth, all came into existence because of the Word’s power and wisdom.

When God began to create, he spoke, and the Word was there to make it happen. God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light. The sun and the moon, the lands and the oceans, the trees, and animals, and insects, were all made this way by God through the Word.

Then God also made humanity in his own image. He created people as men and women. He took stuff from the earth and formed the body of man. He breathed life into this body and it came alive. This was the first man, Adam.

Then God took stuff from the man’s body to make the woman. She was called Eve, the first woman. Together, they were the husband and wife, the first married couple. Later, they would become the first father and the first mother. God blessed them, and commanded them to multiply and to manage the Garden of Eden.

They were made with the ability to manage God’s creation, including the lands, the plants and the trees, and the animals. Unlike the trees and the animals, they were made in God’s image, so that they could also understand God. They could listen to God and speak with God.

God called all of this very good. And the Word was there.

At first, Adam and Eve lived in harmony with God. They had everything they wanted. They were surrounded by love and beauty. They had plenty of food and a big place to live in. And most importantly, they had God.

But one day, Satan came to the man and woman. He was the enemy of God and of humanity. He came as a serpent and deceived them, and led them to disobey God. When a person disobeys God in his thoughts and actions, this is called sin.

Everything changed in an instant. Sin entered their hearts and broke their relationship with God. You see, God made them good inside and out, but when they disobeyed God, they became bad inside and out. They were even embarrassed to be seen by God and tried to hide from him.

This was also how many other problems started. It is possible to become sick and to die because of this. Sin was how it started. Sin also caused problems with the earth, the animals, and other things God created.

But God did not give up on people! Right away, God made them clothes with the skin of an animal, and he promised that a future descendent of the woman, many generations later, will defeat the enemy, Satan.

God said that although the serpent would injure this man, the man would step on the serpent’s head and crush it. He would defeat the enemy for humanity. This man would take back everything that was lost because of sin, and he would gain even more for humanity.

Who was this man that God was talking about? Where would this hero come from? Here is the wonderful thing. You see, the Word would become a man and do all of this to save people, to save you and me.

This is why I want to tell you about the Word. The adventures of Jesus Christ started long before he became a man.