Before Jesus was born, God’s people had to follow many laws to try to please Him. They followed the Ten Commandments and 613 commandments from the Torah — the first five books of the Bible. And they had to follow even more laws from their rabbis (Jewish religious leaders). Can you imagine trying to follow all those rules every single day?

But thanks to Jesus, there are only two simple rules we need to follow: love God and love people. (Read Matthew 22:34-40 to see for yourself.) Following those two rules takes care of the other commandments automatically!

The Bible says that Jesus came to set us free from the old laws so that we could live by grace. When God sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth to die on the cross for us, He showed His great love for us. Our sin separated us from God, and we needed Jesus to take our place so that we could one day be with God. All we have to do is accept God’s free gift of salvation for us. Once we accept God’s gift of salvation, we can live by grace. This is a new spirit-filled life, since God sent His Holy Spirit to help us live like Him.

Because of God’s gift to us, we can love others like Christ loves us. We can show our love for others in many ways. We can draw a picture for a friend who’s sad, share about Jesus, or pray for someone who is sick. We can stand up for a friend who’s being bullied, and we can encourage our sponsored children with our kind letters and pictures. What are some other ways we can show Christ’s love to others?