Daily Devotional for March 10, 2019
Too Dirty for Heaven
Jaxton’s dog raced around the living room, barking at the men who were carrying out the tattered old couch and chair. He romped across the faded, threadbare rug while the workmen were trying to roll it up.
“Jaxton,” Mom called, “please take Buttons outside until the men are finished.”
“All right,” Jaxton answered. “Come on, Buttons. You’re excited about the new carpet and furniture we’re getting, aren’t you, boy?”
A few hours later, everything was finally done. “Wow, Mom!” Jaxton said. “This room looks great! Everything is so clean and nice now.”
“Yes, we’ve been needing new things for a long time.” Just then Buttons ran into the room. “Get that dog out of here!” exclaimed Mom.
“But Mom, he wants to see the new stuff too. You’ve always let him come in here before.”
“That was when we had our worn-out furniture and that grimy old rug,” Mom replied. “I want our new things kept clean! Out he goes!”
“Sorry, boy,” Jaxton said as he took Buttons to the kitchen and made him stay there.
That night, Dad told the family about a conversation he’d had with a coworker that day. “Joe can’t understand that he needs Jesus. Everybody likes him, and he’s received several awards for community service. I’ve tried to tell him that we’re all sinners who need to be saved in order to go to heaven, but Joe still thinks he’s good enough to make it there on his own.”
“Kind of like Buttons,” Jaxton said. “He was allowed in the living room when the furniture and carpet were old, so he thought he’d be allowed in there with the new stuff too. I would have let him in, but not Mom. She made me take him out!”
“That’s a good point,” said Dad. “Even though we may look good to others in this sinful world, we’re dirty in God’s eyes. Just like our living room, everything in this world will one day be made new, and nothing sinful will be allowed in. That’s why we need Jesus. He washes our sin away so we can be part of the new world that’s coming.”
“Tomorrow, why don’t you tell Joe about Buttons?” Jaxton suggested. “Maybe that will help him understand.”
How about you?
Do you think God will let you into heaven because you’re a really good person? You may be good by this world’s standards, but not God’s. Because He is good, He cannot stand sin of any kind. That’s why you need Jesus. When you trust in Him, He washes your sin away and makes you clean so you can spend eternity with Him. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)
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