William J. Bausch tells a story that says it as well as it can be said. The story says that God created the heavens and earth and everything in them. He created them by His words. God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. This happened with everything. God was proud of His work. He was especially proud of the man and woman which He made.

But the devil was jealous and angry. One day when God was enjoying the man and woman, the devil slithered up to God and asked him why he liked those strange human creatures so much. When God opened His mouth to speak, the devil craftily put a bond upon God's tongue. God could not speak, not even one word! Since God's creative power was in His words, the sly old devil had bound God's power.

The devil laughed at God and then proceeded to corrupt man and the woman. Aeons went by, and the devil came back to scoff at the silent God and mock Him. God responded to this by holding up one finger. "One?" asked the devil. "Are you telling me that you want to say just one word?" God nodded. The devil, thought, "I suppose that even God could not do much with just one word." So the devil removed the bond from God's tongue. Then God spoke His one word in a quiet whisper. He spoke it for the man and the woman. It was a word that gathered up all the forgiveness, love, and creativity God had stored up in His heart during His long silence. His one word was "Jesus." And that is the word that changed everything.