Do you know how to say “zoo” in Spanish? Tommy didn’t, but he learned the word quickly one day.
“Let’s go to the zoo this afternoon,” we said to Tommy.
“Oh boy!” he replied.
Our family lived in a small town in South America for a number of years, and occasionally, for a special treat, we drove in to the big city to take our small children to the zoo. We had twin babies at the time so we began to prepare for our trip to the zoo by getting bottles, diapers and food ready for the babies.
“Mommie, how do you say ‘zoo’ in Spanish?” Tommy asked.
“Zoológico,” we said.
Tommy smiled and ran out the door and we continued to get ready to go.
Just as we were ready to get into the jeep, three neighbor children, Yenny, Betania and José, appeared. Their hair was combed, their faces were washed, they had clean clothes on and big smiles on their faces. They looked like they were ready to go somewhere.
We hadn’t planned to invite anyone to go with us that day, but here were these three neighbors all expecting to go somewhere. Suddenly we remembered that Tommy had asked us how to say “zoo” in Spanish! He must have run over to their house to invite them to go with us!
“Well,” we said, “would you like to go to the ‘Zoológico’ with us?”
“Sí!” they all said together.
“You’d better go ask your mother for permission to go,” we said.
“We already have,” they replied.
So we all climbed into the jeep, and instead of taking three children that day, we took six.
Tommy had been eager to invite his friends to go with us that day, but God has wanted even more to invite you somewhere! God is inviting you to go to His wonderful home in heaven. He wants you there so much that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, into this world to die on the cross and pay for your sins so that you could go there, if you will accept His invitation. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
Yenny, Betania and José were just as eager to go as Tommy was to invite them. All it took was one invitation and they got ready fast. And this was just to go to a zoo. But God has invited you many, many times to go all the way to heaven! There is a street of gold there and we will have a wonderful supper with harps and singing. Wouldn’t you like to go? God says to you, “Come; for all things are now ready. ... And yet there is room” (Luke 14:17,2217And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. (Luke 14:17)
22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. (Luke 14:22)). God wants His house to be filled with boys and girls like you. Have you accepted His invitation? Are you ready to go? You can be. The Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)).
Tommy only had to learn how to say “zoo” in Spanish in order to invite his friends that day, but the Lord Jesus had to suffer and die for our sins in order to invite us to heaven. Yenny, Betania and José only had to come that day — and that’s all you have to do too. Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)).