Grocery Store Samples

Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 5:11-12

“My dad says we can only go to heaven if we do more good than bad in our lives,” Katrina told her friend Joanne as she inspected an orange. The girls had tagged along with Joanne’s mother to the grocery store.

Joanne sighed. She had tried explaining that Jesus was the only way to heaven, but Katrina just didn’t seem to understand. As she was about to reply, a colorful display caught Joanne’s eye. “I wonder what that is?” she said, and together they went over to see.

“Hello, girls. Would you like to try our new peanut butter crackers?” asked the woman behind the booth.

“Yeah!” Katrina exclaimed, reaching for one of the samples.

“Um…” The woman smiled nervously. “Where are your parents?”

Joanne looked around. “My mom is in the dairy aisle over there.”

“Well, you have to have a parent with you before you try one of the samples,” the woman explained.

“But she’s right over there,” said Joanne.

The woman smiled. “You still have to have a parent’s approval, just to make sure you’re not allergic to anything in the snack.”

“It’s all right, I know I’m not allergic to peanut butter,” said Katrina. “I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich yesterday.”

“That’s nice, but you still have to have your mom here before you can try one,” the woman insisted.

“Hello,” said Joanne’s mother, walking up behind the girls. “Is something the matter?” After Joanne’s mom said it was okay, the woman happily gave the two girls their samples.

While munching on their snacks, Joanne thought of something. “You know, Katrina,” she said, “getting the samples is kind of like getting into heaven. The woman wouldn’t let us have the samples unless my mom was there, no matter what we said. And we can’t have eternal life without Jesus, no matter what we do. He’s the only one who can make us good enough for heaven because He’s God. In order to get there, we need to know Him.”

Katrina stared at Joanne, chewing thoughtfully. Though Katrina didn’t say anything else, Joanne thanked God that she was able to explain it a little better to her friend and prayed that one day Katrina and her family would know Jesus too. Gabriella Hsu

How About You?

Do you think doing good things can get you into heaven? It’s not true. No matter how many good deeds you do, they won’t make you good enough for heaven. To have eternal life, you need Jesus to save you from sin and give you His goodness. He’s the only way to heaven. Trust in Him today! (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)

Today’s Key Verse:
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (NLT)

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus is the only way to heaven