Nutcracker

Bible Reading: Isaiah 53:3-6; Romans 5:1, 6-8

Raelyn reached for a bowl of nuts. She took a pecan and placed it between the jaws of a nutcracker. “Mom, in Sunday school yesterday, we had a lesson on hell,” she said in a troubled voice. “It scared me. What if I go there when I die?”

“Hell is a scary place,” agreed Mom. “God created it for the devil and his angels. People who refuse to trust Jesus as their Savior will join them there.”

Raelyn’s brother Andy spoke up. “But if you trust Jesus to forgive you and wash your sins away, you’ll go to heaven instead.”

“I’ve trusted Jesus as my Savior,” Raelyn said slowly, “but I still worry about hell sometimes.” She held the pecan carefully as she squeezed the nutcracker. But the nut slipped away, and the jaws of the nutcracker closed on her finger. “Ouch!” she wailed. She tossed the nutcracker into the bowl. “I don’t want to crack nuts anymore,” Raelyn said, nursing her finger. “That hurt!”

“You’re scared of a little nutcracker?” Andy asked. “Not me! Watch!” He grinned as he put his finger between the jaws of the nutcracker. Then he put a book beside his finger. “Go ahead—squeeze it,” he said, holding out his hand. Raelyn obliged, but the book kept the nutcracker jaws open. Andy laughed. “See, it doesn’t even hurt!”

“The book took all the pressure Andy should have felt when he stuck his finger in the nutcracker,” Mom observed. “That’s a pretty good example of what Jesus does for us.”

“I think I get what you’re saying,” said Andy. “We all sin and deserve to be punished for the wrong things we’ve done, but when we trust in Jesus, He protects us from hell, sort of like the book protected my finger. Right, Mom?”

Mom nodded. “Andy trusted the book to keep his finger safe, Raelyn, and we can trust Jesus to keep us safe, now and for all eternity. He took the punishment for our sin when He died on the cross so we wouldn’t have to. We can have the joy of knowing we won’t go to hell. Instead, we’ll spend eternity with Jesus.”

-Hazel W. Marett

How About You?

Do you worry that you might go to hell? Everyone has sinned and deserves to go to hell, but when Jesus died on the cross, He took that punishment for our sin. If you trust in Him, you don’t need to worry about going there. If you haven’t trusted Jesus as your Savior, don’t wait any longer. Trust in Him right now and experience the joy of having your sins forgiven and knowing you have eternal life. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)

Today’s Key Verse: 1 Peter 2:24 Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross…By his wounds you were healed. (ERV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus took your punishment