"I'm glad you came to VBS with me today, Alex," said Gavin as the boys rode their bikes home after Vacation Bible School. "How did you like it?"
"The games were fun and the music was okay," Alex replied.
"I liked the Bible story, too. Didn't you?" Gavin asked.
"Not really." Alex shook his head. "The teacher said the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus. That can't be right. I'm a good kid. I don't do anything really bad. If I keep doing good things, I'll go heaven all right."
By now the boys were at Gavin's house. His mother had just arrived, too, and was getting out of the car. "Hi, boys," she greeted them. "How was VBS?"
"Good . . . but Alex thinks he'll get to heaven just by doing good stuff," said Gavin. "That won't work, will it, Mom?"
"That's not what the Bible says," Mom replied. "Gavin, why don't you tell Alex about the illustration our pastor gave us?"
"Oh, yeah! Got a pen and paper, Mom?" Gavin asked. She gave him a pen and notepad from her purse. Gavin tore off a sheet, wrote $100.00 on it, and held it out to Alex. "Take this to the store to buy a new game," Gavin suggested.
"You're kidding!" exclaimed Alex. "Even if you could make that look real, somebody would know it's counterfeit. I'd be in trouble if I tried to use it."
"Exactly," Gavin agreed. He waved the piece of paper. "All the good things we do are like this paperall our goodness is counterfeit and can't get us to heaven. We're in trouble if we depend on it." Alex didn't look convinced. "The stuff we do might look good to us, but Jesus knows we're not really good," Gavin added. "He knows we've all sinned."
Gavin's mother nodded. "Nothing we do can wash away our sin. We need Jesus to do that. Our own efforts are like that worthless piece of paper."
Alex shrugged, and Gavin saw that he was ready to leave. "Want to come to VBS again tomorrow?" Gavin asked quickly.
"Well . . ." Alex looked at the paper. "Oh, okay," he agreed. He waved and left.
"You know what, Mom?" said Gavin. "I'm going to pray that Alex will listen real good tomorrow and that God helps him understand that He needs Jesus."
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you think you’re really very good? Good enough to get into heaven? Things you do to try to get to heaven may look good to you, but not to God. The Bible says there is no one who does good. All of your own goodness is as phony as counterfeit money. The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. Accept Him as your Savior. (See the ABCs of Salvation by clicking this link: http://www.cbhministries.org/ForKids/ABCsofSalvation.aspx.)
TODAY'S KEY VERSE: (Romans 3:12)
There is none who does good, no, not one.