Watermelon Burglar

Bible Reading: Psalm 32:1-5

Austin looked up when he heard a knock at the window. Mom was outside motioning for him to join her. He pressed the pause button on his game controller and ran out to the backyard.

Mom was standing behind the garage, looking at the ground. “There’s something here I want you to see,” she said, pointing down. “Look at those plants.” There, almost hidden by tall grass, Austin saw a cluster of green vines. “Those are watermelon plants,” Mom said. “The funny thing is, I never planted any watermelons.”

“Maybe they got planted accidentally,” Austin said. “Maybe a squirrel dropped some seeds there.”

“You think so?” Mom asked, raising an eyebrow. “I was thinking of something else. Remember when someone stole a watermelon from Mr. Smith’s garden last summer? The whole neighborhood was talking about it. He was planning to enter it in a contest.”

“Yeah.” Austin shifted uncomfortably. “It was a big green one with stripes, wasn’t it?”

“You seem to remember a lot more details than I do,” Mom said. “I don’t remember what kind it was, but I was wondering if maybe the person who stole it came here, ate it, and then buried the rinds and seeds so no one would find out.”

“I…uh…I guess that could have happened,” Austin said quietly. His face was red.

Mom looked at him closely. “Is there something you need to tell me?” Austin refused to look her in the eye. “It was you, wasn’t it, Austin?” Mom said softly. “I wondered about it last summer because of the way you reacted back then.”

“I…I…Ward and I did it,” Austin finally said, close to tears. “When we buried everything, I thought that would be the end of it. I didn’t know those little green plants were going to come up and tell on me!”

“No matter how you try to hide sin, it always comes back to tell on you,” said Mom. “The good news is no matter what you’ve done or how you’ve tried to hide it, you can always confess it to Jesus, and He’ll forgive you.” Mom wiped a tear from Austin’s cheek. “I’ll walk you over to Mr. Smith’s house so you can tell him what you’ve done and ask him to forgive you too.” – Harry C. Trover

How About You?

When you do something wrong, do you try to hide it from others—or even from God? You may be able to keep parents, teachers, or friends from knowing what happened, but you can never hide anything from God. Instead of trying to keep the sin a secret, confess what you’ve done to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you. Then ask the people you hurt for their forgiveness too.

Today’s Key Verse:
Psalm 69:5 O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

You can’t hide sin