Still Sour

Bible Reading: Luke 18:9-14; Romans 3:10-12

“Yuck!” Londyn made a face, hurried to the sink, and spit out her milk.

“Londyn! What on earth…”

“Mom, this milk tastes terrible!” Londyn exclaimed. “There’s something wrong with it!”

“There is?” Mom checked the milk. “It’s starting to go sour. I’ll get a fresh gallon when I go to the grocery store.”

“But I want milk now,” Londyn pouted. She had an idea. “It isn’t very sour. If I make it into chocolate milk, the sweet chocolate should cover the sour taste.”

“I don’t think that will work,” said Mom, but when Londyn insisted, Mom said she could try it. So Londyn spooned some sweet chocolate powder into the milk, then sipped a little of the mixture. “It still tastes awful!” she groaned.

In Sunday school later that morning, Londyn listened carefully as Mrs. Wilson shared a story Jesus had told His disciples. “Two men went into the temple to pray,” Mrs. Wilson began. “One was a Pharisee—a man who focused on all the good things he did, but he didn’t believe he needed God’s grace for forgiveness. The other man was a dishonest tax collector who had cheated people out of their money. The Pharisee prayed first, telling God he was glad he was a good person and not bad like the other man.”

Mrs. Wilson paused for a moment. “The tax collector,” she continued, “didn’t even lift up his head. He just cried out to God, pleading for forgiveness of his sins. And do you know what Jesus told His disciples? He said the tax collector—not the Pharisee—went home justified, or forgiven. Do you know why?”

Londyn remembered the sour milk and understood that good things don’t cover up the bad. “Was the Pharisee trying to cover his sins with good deeds?” she asked. “But the tax collector knew only God could take sin away?”

“That’s right,” said Mrs. Wilson. “The Pharisee wasn’t really a good man at all. He was a sinner just like the tax collector—and just like everybody! Good deeds didn’t change his sinful heart, and they can’t change ours either. We all need Jesus to save us from sin and forgive us. That’s the only way we can be good in God’s eyes.”

-Ruth Hryshkanych

How About You?

Do you go to church? Obey your parents? Treat others with respect? Do you feel like you’re a good person? It may seem that way to you, but God says you’re a sinner. None of the good things you do can cover up the sour taste of your sin. Only Jesus can do that. Trust Him to forgive your sin and save you today. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)

Today’s Key Verse:
Luke 18:13 (CSB) But the tax collector…kept striking his chest and saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

Today’s Key Thought:

Good deeds can’t cover sin