Picking Up a Mess

Bible Reading: Romans 3:10-26

“Charlotte, Suzi!” Dad called up the stairs. “Dinner is ready! Please pick up your toys and then come eat.” Charlotte quickly put her dolls in a basket, then put the basket high on the shelf and ran downstairs. Suzi, who was five years younger, couldn’t quite reach the shelf to put her dolls away or lift the heavy lid to the toy chest. She eventually gave up and went to eat.

The next morning at breakfast, Suzi began singing “Jesus Loves Me.” Usually Charlotte loved listening to Suzi sing and would clap along, but today she just quietly listened. “What’s on your mind, kiddo?” Dad asked.

Charlotte frowned. “Well, I know that Jesus died on the cross to take away sins, but I guess I just don’t really understand how that shows that Jesus loves me.”

Dad thought for a moment. “Yesterday I asked you and Suzi to clean the playroom, right?”

Charlotte shrugged. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“Well,” Dad replied, “Suzi can’t pick up her toys on her own, so I want you to clean up the toys she can’t.”

“But that’s not fair!” said Charlotte. “She’s the one who made the mess!”

“You’re right, she is the one who made the mess, but no matter how hard she tries, it’s impossible for her to clean it up on her own. She needs help.” Dad paused. “Jesus shows us His love in the same way.”

Charlotte looked confused. “Jesus didn’t pick up my toys yesterday.”

Dad laughed. “No, but we’re the ones who had a huge mess of sin in our lives. Do you think it was fair for Jesus to clean it up? Jesus didn’t sin. He didn’t make our mess, but Jesus also knew we couldn’t get rid of it on our own. So, because He loves us, He died on the cross to do what we couldn’t—to take away our sins for us.”

“So you’re saying I can show Suzi I love her by picking up her toys because she can’t do it on her own, just like Jesus shows me He loves me by taking away my sin because I can’t do it myself?”

Dad smiled. “You got it.”

As Suzi continued to sing, Charlotte gave her a hug, then began to clap along to “Jesus Loves Me.” – Bethany Den Boer

How About You?

Have you ever made a mess you couldn’t clean up on your own? The Bible says our lives are like that—we’ve gotten ourselves into a mess of sin, and it’s impossible for us to get out on our own. But Jesus loved us so much that He died on the cross to take away our sin. You can only get out of sin’s mess by trusting in Him. (See the ABCs of Salvation in the column to the right.)

Today’s Key Verse:
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus takes away our sin