Mom was tired! She’d had a busy day, so 10-year-old Mark volunteered to make lunch. Tunaburgers would be great, and the whole family liked them.
Mark opened three cans of tuna and carefully drained them. Then he grated a nice big pile of cheddar cheese and chopped a small onion into tiny pieces. Mark enjoyed working in the kitchen, and he liked to help his mom too. With seven children to look after, his mom often needed some help.
Mark mixed the tuna, cheese and onion in a big bowl and added just the right amount of salad dressing. Now he only needed to add the salt and pepper. He sprinkled in the salt and picked up the pepper shaker. But when he turned it upside down to shake it, the top came off and the whole shakerful of pepper tumbled into the bowl. Mark was horrified! He glanced around quickly to see if anyone was looking, but no one had seen it. He likely could have scooped out most of the pepper, but all he could think of now was to hide it.
Have you ever made a mistake and then tried to hide it? That is being dishonest. Hiding a mistake might work for a little while, but in the end it only makes things worse. God tells us that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart.” Jeremiah 17:9,109The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9‑10). “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). How much better it is to tell the truth right away.
Mark stirred and stirred until the pepper was thoroughly mixed in and the tuna mixture only looked a little bit gray. He had a guilty conscience, but he kept telling himself that everything would be alright. He spooned the tuna onto the hamburger rolls, wrapped each one in aluminum foil, and popped them into the oven.
Soon it was lunchtime. The tunaburgers sure smelled good, and everyone was hungry as they came to the table to eat. Mom thanked Mark for fixing lunch, and then Dad gave thanks to the Lord for the food. Everyone reached for a tunaburger and took a big bite.
“Ugh! What did you do to these tunaburgers?” chorused the family. Only Mark took more than one bite.
He hadn’t been able to hide his mistake. And each of us must realize that we can’t hide anything from God. He knows everything we do. He knows every thought that passes through our minds. And yet, He loves us just the same. He says, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:33The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jeremiah 31:3).
Don’t resist His unconditional love. He has provided a way of removing your sins and clearing your guilt forever. You only need to come to Him, not hiding your sins, but being honest about them. He will gladly be your Saviour and blot out every one of them. Then in Hebrews 8:1212For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12) He assures you that your sins will be gone forever: “[Your] sins and [your] iniquities will I remember no more.”
Will you be honest with God about your sins? “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:1313He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13).
ML-09/27/1992