TONY and I loved Aunt Tina’s house. We could run around and around in it. We would start in the kitchen, then through the dining room, living room, hall and back into the kitchen again, making a big circle every time around. As we ran we would race to see who could get ahead, giggling the whole time.
One time as we ran around the circle, we noticed a can of chocolate powder standing open on the counter in the kitchen with a spoon already in it. YUM!! We knew how good that chocolate tasted, and there was Aunt Tina with her back to the counter, talking on the phone. Maybe she wouldn’t notice if we took a taste.
Tony took a spoonful of the delicious chocolate powder and refilled the spoon for me. It was as good as we thought! Then we ran around the circle again. Coming into the kitchen again, we looked carefully at Aunt Tina. No, she wasn’t watching. We each took another spoonful and then back around the circle, smacking our lips and giggling more than ever. Around and around we went, each time checking to see if Aunt Tina was still talking on the phone. When we were sure she wasn’t watching, we helped ourselves to another spoonful of the yummy chocolate powder. We were sure that we were such good secret-keepers that she would never know.
But as soon as Aunt Tina said, “Good-bye” to the person she had been talking to, she turned and asked, “Why, have you been eating the chocolate powder?”
“We didn’t eat any,” we both lied, shaking our heads. In disbelief we both wondered, How could Aunt Tina have known?
“Oh, yes you did,” Aunt Tina said firmly.
“No, we didn’t,” we said, a little less sure of our secret.
“Yes, you did,” Aunt Tina repeated.
“How do you know?” Tony asked, by now almost in tears.
“Go and look in the mirror!” said Aunt Tina.
We went together to look in the hall mirror. There we saw what Aunt Tina saw—chocolate all around our mouths and on our clothes!
We stood in front of Aunt Tina with chocolate smeared all over us, denying that we had eaten any. How foolish! It had tasted so good, but now we were caught. “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:2323But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)). God knows all about every wrong thing you’ve ever done, and He knows every sinful thing you’ve ever thought. But let me tell you something wonderful. Although God hates your sins, He loves you just the same. In fact He loved you so much He sent His beloved Son to die for you on the cross. “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:2424Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)). If you will simply come to Him and tell Him you are sorry you’ve sinned and that you believe He died for your sins, He will wash you clean in His precious blood. Won’t you do that now? He’s waiting to forgive you.
ML-02/02/1997