The Master’s Call

Bible Reading: John 6:37-40; Romans 6:23

“Mom, Sheba won’t come when I call her!” said Adam. “Sometimes she comes toward me, but if I try to touch her, she runs away again. Watch!” Adam called to Sheba, his new puppy. Sure enough, Sheba looked at Adam, and when he kept calling, she ran in a couple of circles. Each time, she came close to Adam but always dodged away at the last moment. When she was finally exhausted, Sheba lay down, panting. Adam walked over to her. “You need to learn to obey,” he said.

“You’re right,” said Mom. “I know! Try offering her a reward to encourage her to come to you. Try a dog biscuit—and when you call her, ignore her silly antics. When she comes, praise her, pet her, and give her the biscuit. Eventually, she’ll get tired of wearing herself out for nothing. She’ll learn that she needs to come to you so she can have her reward.”

“Okay,” said Adam. “It’s worth a try.”

Several days later, Adam called to Mom as she walked outside. “Look, Mom! Watch Sheba now!” Mom turned to watch as Adam called to his puppy. “Sheba, come!” The puppy stopped chewing on her dog toy, looked at Adam, and cocked her head. Adam repeated the command. “Come, Sheba!” He held up a dog biscuit. Sheba quickly trotted over to Adam. She stood silently beside him, stared at the biscuit, and remained still. “Good girl, Sheba!” Adam patted her and gave her the biscuit, which she ate eagerly.

Adam beamed. “Sheba’s really smart!” He knelt down and hugged the happy puppy.

Mom smiled. “Yes. She is smart to come to her master.” She came over and scratched behind Sheba’s ears. “If only everybody in the world would come to the Master—wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“Come to the master?” asked Adam. “I guess you mean Jesus, right?”

Mom nodded. “Right,” she said, “and Jesus offers a reward too. He offers the greatest reward of all—eternal life. We don’t need to tire ourselves out trying to earn our way to heaven—it doesn’t work anyway! All we need to do is answer Jesus’ call and come to Him, and the reward is ours.” – Susanna B. Chenoweth

How About You?

Have you come to Jesus? The Bible clearly says He wants you to come to Him. He’s offering a great reward—the gift of eternal life. It’s wonderful and it’s free—but you must come. He promises that when you do, He will accept you. Will you come to Jesus today? (See the ABCs of Salvation in the column on the right.)

Today’s Key Verse:
John 6:37 (Jesus said) The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

Today’s Key Thought:

Come to Jesus