Jimmy wasn’t feeling very well, so his mother kept him home from school. He was in first grade, and they didn’t usually have any homework to worry about if they missed a day or two of school. But Jimmy didn’t feel any better the next day or the next, and then he ran a fever.
About the third day, a rash with little red spots began to show up on Jimmy’s legs and arms and tummy. By then he was also coughing, and he was a sick little boy. Those red spots told his mother that this was the measles. She had heard that other children in his class had been out of school for more than a week with the measles, so she wasn’t surprised that he now had them too.
Jimmy wasn’t very happy about the long time he had to spend in bed. But there wasn’t much he felt like doing, and it seemed to him like he was just getting more and more red spots. On one trip to the bathroom, he looked in the mirror, and for the first time he saw that red spots were all over his face too! Then he really got scared as he thought, Maybe those spots will never go away, and then I’m going to look like this for the rest of my life! He kept checking in the mirror each day ... and they were still there. After several days, he was sure those red spots would never go away!
Poor Jimmy was really upset, but he never told his mother what was bothering him. He just didn’t talk much, and his mother was getting worried about him. After a few more days, she talked to the doctor about Jimmy’s measles, saying that he was so listless and didn’t even want to talk.
Most of you children know that measles will go away, but there is another disease that’s a whole lot worse and that will never just get better and go away! And we all have it, and there is no medicine that will cure it! You can stay in bed for a month, and it still won’t go away! God calls it sin, and it’s a whole lot worse than measles! But God loves us so much He has made a way for us to be cured of our sins.
But let’s check in on Jimmy before we tell you about God’s wonderful cure for our sins.
Jimmy’s mother knew that his measles would go away, but she was very worried because he didn’t want to do anything or even talk. She talked to the doctor again, and this time the doctor came to see Jimmy. He checked him over and then said to Jimmy, “I can see you are already getting better, Jimmy, and soon all your red spots will disappear and be gone for good! You’ll be good as new!” Jimmy could hardly believe what he was hearing—that his red spots would all disappear and be gone soon! If the doctor said that, it must be true! He suddenly was one very happy boy again!
Jimmy was so glad to know his measles would go away, and we can tell you there is good news about our sins too. Now a doctor can’t do anything about our sins, but God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ can! He loves us and wants to wash away every single sin that we have now or will ever have. That’s the best news a sinner can hear! The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus Christ [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). And since the Bible says that, we know it is true! That means we can be completely clean from all our sins now and forever. Along with that good news comes the promise of living in heaven with the Lord Jesus after our time here on earth is over. He also will write down your name in His book of life, and that’s very important.
But here is the bad news. God says you won’t be allowed into heaven if you still have your sins. “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
Jimmy’s measles did go away, and even better news is that Jimmy’s sins are also gone! He asked the Lord Jesus to wash away his sins and be his Saviour. If your sins have been washed away in the blood of Jesus, you will meet Jimmy in heaven someday.
“Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5).
MEMORY VERSE: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” Revelation 1:5
ML-07/19/2015