Dear Children,
Winter is just about here. The leaves have fallen off the trees, the ducks and geese have flown south, and the days are cold and windy. And maybe some of you have had some snow already. Most of you boys and girls are probably wearing warm clothes and your winter jackets to school. Gramma and I are sitting beside our fireplace where we have a cozy, warm fire burning. Yes, summer is gone, but we have pictures of Gramma’s pretty flower beds that we like to look at and remember. And that reminds me of a story I want to tell you about Cricket, the little dog we have now. She’s a Yorkshire terrier and cute as a button. She just loves to be with us wherever we are, but she sure can make a lot of noise when she hears or sees something unusual. And the day I’m going to tell you about was one of those times.
It was this past summer, and Gramma and I were sitting outside in the shade at the front of our house where she always has lots of flowers blooming. The butterflies just love those flowers ... and so do the honeybees! Cricket was sitting there with us in the shade when she saw a honeybee playing around in those flowers. The bee would fly to this flower and then to that one, like it was tasting each flower. Cricket was up on her feet watching that bee very closely. She did not understand that a bee can sting you very quickly if you come too close to it. We told her, “No, no, Cricket! Don’t touch it! Leave it alone!”
Yes, we were giving Cricket good instructions. Don’t you think so? God has told us in the holy Bible that “the sting of death is sin.” We read those words in 1 Corinthians 15:5656The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. (1 Corinthians 15:56). We also read in Mark 10:1919Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother. (Mark 10:19), “[You know] the commandments.” And we also read that it is a sin when we break just one commandment! How many commandments have you broken? One? Two? Ten? So then each commandment we break is a sin—WOW! We each have an awful lot of sins that need to be forgiven, and only God can forgive our sins. We each need to listen and follow His instructions.
Did Cricket listen to us? Did she obey? NO! She caught that honeybee in her mouth, and boy-oh-boy, did she dance around ... under the table, under the chair, under the lawn swing! She was learning a very painful lesson.
Poor Cricket. There was nothing we could do to help her. She finally got the bee out of her mouth. Yes, it was dead, but the bee sting gave her a very sore mouth for some time.
I’m sure you’d like to ask, “Grampa, is Cricket okay now?”
Yes. I’m happy to report that she is fine, but it was a hard way for her to learn a lesson, just because she didn’t listen to us.
Children, we have all sinned. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). But it is a wonderful thing to know that our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son who loves us, paid the heavy price for the sins of each person who will come to Him in prayer for forgiveness. He promises, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:3434And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)).
Boys and girls, are you listening? Have you come to Jesus to have your sins forgiven? Gramma and I sure hope so.
We love you very much,
Grampa and Gramma
ML-11/30/2014