NOVEMBER 22, 1 Corinthians 6:20

As Christie was cleaning out her closet one day, she found a library book tucked away in the corner. “Oh no!” she groaned. “I forgot about this book.” She checked the due date. “It’s more than a year overdue!” she gasped. “By now, the fine will be really huge. I’ll never be able to pay it, and I bet Mom and Dad will be mad too. They always say I need to be more responsible for the things I have.” She sighed. “I wonder why they haven’t been sending me notices about it.”

Christie shoved the book back in the closet, but she continued to worry about it for days. Finally, just before family devotions one evening, she told her parents about the problem. “I’m really sorry I forgot to take the book back,” she said. “I… I would have told you before, but I thought I’d first try to save enough money to pay the fine.” She looked down at her hands. “I just don’t know when I’ll ever have enough money though, and the fine just gets bigger and bigger. What should I do?”

“Oh!” exclaimed her mother. “When I was at the library about a month ago, the librarian asked me about that book. It was already so long overdue that it was cheaper to buy it than to pay the fine, so that’s what I did.” She smiled at Christie. “I must admit, I was a bit annoyed that you hadn’t brought it back, but then I decided to surprise you by letting you keep it. I can hardly believe I forgot to tell you!”

“Whew!” Christie breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks a lot, Mom. Just think – I’ve been feeling so guilty and worried, and all the time the book was paid for!”

“What happened to you is similar to what happens to lots of people,” said Dad. “People often feel guilty for years about things they’ve done wrong. Just as you put off going back to the library, they wait to come to God, thinking that they’ll first ‘clean up’ their lives. But they’ll never be able to do that. They just keep on sinning. They don’t realise that Jesus paid the full price for all their sins on the cross and all they have to do is accept Him and receive His gift.”

Thought: Jesus paid it all!

Prayer: Thank you, Heavenly Father, for today’s reminder that Jesus paid it all for me on the Cross. With this knowledge, may I learn to live a life that will please Him! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.