Dr. Walt Larimore tells a great story in a recent Focus on the Family magazine. A 5-year-old girl was sitting on her mother's lap and asked, "Mom, does God live in your heart?" The mother smiled and nodded. The girl asked, "Can I listen?" Her mother laughed as the daughter placed her head against her chest. Suddenly the little girl's eyes widened, and she jerked her head away. The mother asked, "Did you hear anything?" Her daughter said, "I did! God was making coffee!"
"Does God live in your heart?" What a great question for all of us. God created each of us and in that sense, we are all His children. But it's necessary for us to invite Him to live in our hearts, which simply means that we acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
God wants to have a personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus Christ. By dying on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, and took the judgment that we deserved. We give Him ourselves and He gives us eternal life. What an exchange rate that is! That's like giving Him a penny and receiving from Him a million dollars. It makes no sense in our economy, but it shows the generosity of our loving God.
1 comments:
Cute story! There is nothing like the simplicity of a child to bring understanding to truth. The very fact that Jesus was willing to take our punishment indeed shows the generosity of God. I explain it to the kids in our church this way. Imagine your dad told you to clean your room and you didn't. A few hours later when he checks to see if you have obeyed he realizes that you didn't. He says because you chose not to obey you must get a spanking. You dread it because you know it will hurt. Now, imagine that right before the paddle hits your bottom I step in the room and yell, "STOP. Don't spank him, spank me instead." You would love me for it. You would be so grateful for what I did for you. That is exactly what Jesus did for us. Although we deserve to be punished for sinning against God, Jesus stepped in and said punish me instead. The generosity of God is an amazing thing!
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