I Don’t Think So

Bible Reading: Ephesians 2:4-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19

Jonah and his brother Aaron rolled a wagon piled high with popcorn tins down the street. “Let’s see…” said their mom. She had agreed to help them deliver the orders they had taken. “Here’s the first house. Mrs. Martinez ordered the Caramel Crunch.”

Jonah grabbed the tin and ran to ring the doorbell. “Here’s the popcorn you ordered,” he said when Mrs. Martinez came to the door.

“Great!” she replied. “It came just in time for my husband’s birthday.”

The boys were greeted with lots of warm smiles as they continued the deliveries. “Delivering popcorn is way more fun than selling it,” Aaron said when they reached the last address on their list.

Both boys ran to the door, and Jonah rang the bell. They heard a dog bark in the house, and then a muffled voice called, “Who is it?”

Aaron spoke up. “We’re here to deliver your popcorn.”

The door opened a crack, and an older woman peeked out. “I don’t want anything,” she said.

Jonah held up the popcorn tin. “This is for you. It’s already paid for.”

“I don’t think so,” the woman mumbled, and she shut the door. The boys stared at it in surprise.

“She didn’t take her popcorn!” exclaimed Aaron. “She didn’t believe us!”

“That’s too bad,” said Mom. She looked at the list. “The name on here is Mr. Davenport. Maybe he ordered it as a gift for his wife. When we get home, we’ll call him and get this straightened out.”

As they walked home, Mom was thoughtful. “Can you boys think of another gift that’s already paid for but often gets turned down?”

“Another one? What would that be?” Aaron asked.

“Salvation,” Mom replied. “It’s paid for—but we didn’t pay the price. Jesus paid for our salvation when He died on the cross for our sins. We simply need to receive the gift.”

Jonah wrinkled his brow, thinking. “So, just like that lady doesn’t have popcorn because she didn’t believe us, some people won’t have salvation—even though it’s been paid for—because they don’t believe God.”

“That’s right,” said Mom. “We need to believe and accept the gift of salvation Jesus offers us.”

How About You?

Have you received God’s gift of salvation? Or have you said, “I don’t think so,” when you heard that Jesus died for you? He paid the price of your sin so you could be saved and have eternal life. Believe it! Don’t refuse His gift of salvation. Accept it today. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)

Today’s Key Verse: Ephesians 2:8 By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

Today’s Key Thought:

Believe God and accept His gift