The Dusty Table

Bible Reading: John 10:27-28; Romans 8:35-39

“I want to ask you something, Mom,” Emma said hesitantly as her mother tucked her into bed one evening. “I trusted Jesus as my Savior last summer, but it seems like I’m still always doing something wrong—like being mean to Colson tonight.

When I do stuff like that, I ask God to forgive me, but what if I forget to ask Him—or what if I don’t even realize I’ve done something wrong?” She paused. “Then am I still saved?”

Mom sat down on the bed. “Jesus’s death paid for all your sins, Emma. Jesus will never disown you if you’ve put your trust in Him.”

“You’re sure?” asked Emma.

“I’m sure.” Mom pointed to a small blue table in the corner of Emma’s room. “Where did that come from?”

“That’s the table Mrs. Morales found when she was cleaning out her basement last week. She said I could have it—it was old and dirty and she was just going to throw it away. I cleaned it up and then Dad showed me how to sand it and paint it.” Emma grinned. “It looks great now, huh?”

Mom nodded. “It sure does. It’s beautiful, so enjoy it while you can. Your room sometimes gets pretty dusty, you know. Soon that table will be covered with dust and you’ll have to throw it out.”

“Throw it out!” exclaimed Emma. “Are you kidding? It could never look any worse than when I got it! It was covered with dirt and bugs and spider webs, but I didn’t throw it away then. I’m definitely not going to get rid of it now after all the work I did to make it look good! I’ll just clean it whenever I need to. I love that table.”

Mom smiled. “I thought you’d say that. Emma, don’t you see that God loves you much more than you love that table? Your life was full of sin, but Jesus died to save you from it. When you put your trust in Him, He made you part of His family. He’s not going to just throw you away now—not after all He’s done for you. Just like how you’ll dust that table whenever it gets dirty, Jesus will forgive you whenever you do something wrong. Confess your sin to Him, and He will make you clean.”

– Sherry L. Kuyt

How About You?

Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? God says that if you’ve trusted Jesus to save you from sin, nothing can ever separate you from His love. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page or go to www.keysforkids.org/goodnews.) Once you trust in Jesus, you’re a child of God, and nothing you do will ever change that. He offers you forgiveness whenever you need it. Confess your sins to Him, and He will clean them away.

Today’s Key Verse:
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

You are God’s child forever