Going Back in Time

Read: 1 John 1:5-10

"Your mom’s calling you for lunch?” Josie asked in surprise as she talked on the phone with her cousin Olive. “You mean you haven’t eaten lunch yet? It’s almost two in the afternoon! We ate a long time ago.”

“Well, it’s only noon here in Colorado, remember?” Olive replied. “We’re in different time zones.”

“Oh, that’s right!” said Josie. “Well, I’d better go anyway—have a nice lunch.”

The girls said goodbye, and Josie hung up. Then she wandered out to the backyard where her dad was working.

“Josie, I need you to walk down to Tess’s house and pick up your sister,” Dad said as he poured fertilizer out of a bag. “It’s time for her to come home, and I’m busy with this.”

“Why can’t she just walk home?” asked Josie.

“She’s too young to walk that far by herself,” said Dad. “I’m covered in fertilizer, so I need you to go get her.”

“No, I don’t want to!” said Josie. “I’m sick of always doing everything for her. She’s so annoying!” Josie turned and hurried toward the house.

When Josie found herself sitting alone in her room a few minutes later, she wished she had obeyed her father, but it was too late now. She knew she deserved to be punished.

When Dad came to Josie’s room, she looked up sadly. “I wish we were in Colorado,” she said. “It’s two hours earlier there—just a little after twelve o’clock instead of two o’clock—so the time I got into trouble hasn’t happened there yet. When it got to be two o’clock, I would obey you instead of talking back. I wish I hadn’t done that.”

“Things that have happened can’t be made to unhappen,” Dad said. “We can’t go back in time—and even if we could, we’d still sin and make mistakes. But we can be forgiven for the wrong we’ve done. You don’t need to move to another time zone for that. When you confess your sin to Jesus, He’ll forgive you—and I will too.”

Josie jumped up. “I’m sorry, Dad!” she said. “I really am!”

Dad smiled. “Good,” he said as Josie gave him a hug. “Then you can go get your sister so I can finish with the fertilizer.”

Josie sighed. “Okay, Dad,” she said. “I will.”

–Nance E. Keyes

How about you? Have you ever wished you could go back and undo something you’ve done? You can’t do that, but because Jesus paid for your sins on the cross, you can be forgiven. If what you did hurt other people, do your best to make things right with them. Let them know you’re sorry, and accept the consequences of your sin. Most importantly, confess your sin to Jesus. He will forgive you and give you a clean start.

Today's Key Verse: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NKJV) 1 John 1:9

Today's Key Thought: God forgives