JUNE 30, Ephesians 1:7

“You won’t believe what I saw at Karen’s!” Sharlene was almost in tears. “She’s selling my doll at her garage sale!” “Your doll?” asked Mom.

“Yes! My doll!” answered Sharlene. “The one Grandma gave me. I know it’s mine: it has a scribble mark on one arm and an eye that sticks shut.” “How did Karen get it?” asked Mom. Sharlene shrugged. “I don’t know if I left it over there. When I said it was mine, Karen grabbed it and said it was hers now and she was going to sell it.” Mom frowned when she heard how much Karen wanted for the doll.

“I’ll check it out,” offered Carla, Sharlene’s older sister. She headed down the street. When she returned a few minutes later, Carla nodded. “That’s Sharlene’s doll all right,” she said. “I told her mother it was. She said it was just too bad if Sharlene lost it ... ‘finders keepers.’”

Sharlene burst into tears. “But it’s mine!” she protested. “She can’t keep it.” Mom sighed. “Well,” she said, “I can talk to Karen’s mother about it but if she really feels that way, you may have to buy your doll back.”

“She shouldn’t have to pay for something she owns,” protested Carla. But Sharlene ran to her room and began shaking coins out of her piggy bank. She put the money into her pocket and dashed down the street. A few minutes later, she came skipping back, hugging the doll tightly in her arms.

Mom smiled. “You redeemed her,” she said. “I what?” asked Sharlene. “Redeemed her – bought her back. You did for your doll what Jesus did for us,” explained Mom. “He made us for Himself, but when Adam and Eve sinned, it put them, and all the people who came after them, under Satan’s power. Jesus paid the price so that we can become God’s children.”

“He did that when He died on the cross, didn’t He?” asked Carla. Mom nodded. “He bought us back with His own blood. When we trust in Him, we no longer have to be afraid of death and eternal punishment.”

Sharlene smiled and spoke to her doll. “Now you’ll remind me of both Grandma and Jesus!” she said. “From now on, I’m taking extra good care of you!”

Thought: Do you realise that Jesus paid the price to redeem you, to buy you back from Satan’s power?

Prayer: Thank You, Heavenly Father, for redeeming me. Thank You for giving me salvation. I want to praise You for all that You are and ask that I will live a good Christian life to please You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.