How To Make People Love You At First Sight - written by Alfred (a short story for kids)

Once upon a time in a time far away but not too far away, there lived a little orphan boy named Luke. He was one of the many orphans in the large old orphanage on Bell Street. Like is the wish of every orphan every time of the year, Luke had only one wish this yuletide season and it was that he be adopted into a loving, caring and wealthy home.

One Saturday morning, a new orphan was transferred into Luke’s orphanage. His name was Stephen. It appears the orphanage he came from had to be shut down because of a permanent shortage of funds.

Those in the orphanage had to be spread to different orphanages around the country that would take them.

Of course, there wasn’t enough space for all of them in other orphanages so majority of them had to go back to living on the streets. Stephen should count himself fortunate, Luke thought; he just narrowly missed a bullet many never recover from. He just narrowly missed going from orphanage to street.

Luke soon noticed that it was because of more than good fortune that Stephen was one of the few that was chosen to be sent to an orphanage rather than back to the street. It was that for some reason everybody just loved him. Luke couldn’t figure out why but he was kinda growing fond of the boy himself.

Out of curiosity, Luke actually asked Stephen that why is it that everybody likes him so much.

Stephen didn’t answer Luke because the question looked like it was being asked out of envy.

Luke however was too intent on finding out what the reason was that made everybody like Stephen so much. Anytime people spoke of Stephen they spoke highly of him even behind his back. Whenever the other orphans wanted to settle a dispute they took it to Stephen. Whenever the orphanage staff needed a mediator to help get a point across to the orphans they always chose Stephen.

Luke just couldn’t understand it. He just couldn’t understand why. He wanted people to like him too just as much as they liked Stephen.   Luke kept observing Stephen, to the point Stephen got sick and tired of it. He set a trap for Luke by leaving his diary under his pillow and when Luke tip – toed to Stephen’s bed when the room was empty and took out Stephen’s diary, Stephen jumped out of his hiding place making a loud scary sound.

To say that Luke jumped out of his skin would be a major understatement. Luke was so scared that his heart might as well have sprouted wings and flown straight out his chest like a ghost heading for the cloudy sky.

Stephen sat Luke down and told him that if he wants to know how come people like him so much then he would have to promise to stop being his shadow.

Luke said, “Deal.”

Stephen asked Luke if they were in a Christian orphanage or not.   Luke couldn’t quite understand why Stephen asked the question – Is that question even relevant in getting people to like you?

Luke answered that it was.

Stephen then asked if that meant that they had regular bible studies, compulsory prayer time, and also Christian book reading time in the orphanage library.

Luke wasn’t sure of were all this was going. Was Stephen stalling? – Was he avoiding telling him why people liked him?

Luke figured he might as well answer the question anyway and so he said, Yes.

Stephen then explained to Luke that all those compulsory activities that they were told to engage in aren’t compulsory activities to him. When he’s doing them he’s being himself. He’s not doing it just because it’s compulsory to do it.

Stephen explained to Luke that the things that make everybody to like him are basically the same things that everyone in the orphanage does only that they do not do for the same reasons. They do good things because they are mandated by the orphanage to do them but he does good things because he has a relationship with God. That is basically the difference between having RELIGION and having a RELATIONSHIP with God.

Luke was shocked to heard this. The secret was to have a relationship with Jesus.

When you have a relationship with God you are on the right track. Your life becomes real and it becomes part of your new nature in Christ for you to do good things. Good things that are going to help you and help others, which of course would make people naturally like you.

Stephen led Luke in a salvation prayer and Luke became a true follower of Jesus Christ not in word alone but from the heart also.   

Stephen also told Luke that if he wants people to like him. In addition to his relationship with Jesus, he should be incredibly neat. He should never even wear an un-ironed shirt or an unpolished shoe. He should also learn to walk with dignity and class.

About a week later, Stephen got adopted. That was not surprise to everyone in the orphanage. He was the guy that everyone liked. A couple looking to adopt was bound to pick him up before anyone else.

Luke didn’t forget all that Stephen had told him and he practiced it. His relationship with God was what he enjoyed the most and he wondered why he didn’t pursue having a relationship with God earlier.

The books that Luke read he now read from his heart, and they made him grow in wisdom because he was now on a personal quest for knowledge – his heart was hungry for knowledge. He didn’t just read so that he would pass the little tests that the orphanage gave the orphans in their improvised schooling system, but he read because he was now in love with reading and reading had now become part of his lifestyle.

Luke also became extremely clean. He didn’t play as much and he now walked with class; you would think he was the son of a Duke or something. 

Weeks later, Luke noticed that people now admired him like they used to admire Stephen when he was around.

When the other orphans wanted to settle a quarrel they came to him and thanks to all the books he had been reading he knew what to say.

When the orphanage staff needed a mediator amongst the orphans for any kind of help; they picked him.

Luke even got the nick name “Duke” because of the way he walked.

It was no big surprise that one day when a Duke and his wife came to adopt a child because his wife could not give birth, the minds of the orphanage staff as well as that of most of the orphans went to Luke even though they would have loved to be adopted themselves. 

The Duke and his wife had a good reputation for kindness and they were very very rich. They fell in perfectly into the class of every orphan’s dream foster parents. And Luke (a.k.a Duke) was chosen – he was going to be adopted by them. He had began this yuletide season with a wish and now that wish was fulfilled thanks to his relationship with Jesus.Jesus is wonderful.

THE END.