Schedules

  Directions

  We Believe

  Our Staff

  For Adults

  For Teens

  For Children

  Our School

      Calendar

      Sports

  Contact Us

  Know!

  Links

How do I get the free gift?

The commercial said, "Free." But it seemed too good to be true. Mom thought so too. "It does sound too good to be true, Toph. There must be a catch."

Dad didn’t even think we should go. "We Schmidts never take anything for nothing. We work for what we get."

But I sure wanted a new baseball glove! The commercial said the sports stadium was giving the away-FREE- to the first fifty fans in the door on Thursday.

"Dad, please will you take me to the ballpark and check it out! Please?"

"All right, Son, but don’t expect to come home with a new ball glove. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, you know."

I don’t always know what Dad means when he says stuff like that. I told him, "I want a free glove, not a free lunch." I was just glad we were going.

We went to the ballpark a whole hour early. I thought for sure we would be the first people there, but when Dad turned the last corner, I couldn’t believe it! The cars already stretched as far as I could see. I guess everyone in town had heard about the free offer.

We parked the car and got in line anyway. I knew we were too far back to be in the first fifty. I tried counting the people in front of us, but they kept moving, and I couldn’t get past twenty-five. Tommy came with his dad, but they were really far back.

Finally the gate opened, and people started going in. I guess the ball gloves were only for boys who were eight to ten. I hadn’t heard that part in the TV commercial. Maybe they didn’t say it. Or maybe they only showed the words or something.

Anyway, it turned out that I was the forty-ninth boy in line who was eight, nine or ten years old. I was so happy! Tommy was number sixty though, and he didn’t get anything.

When we got home, I told Mom, Megan and Bobbie. Mom even let me call Grandpa and Grandma Williams to tell them.

Grandpa said something different when I told him about the glove. "Kind of reminds me of salvation."

"What do you mean, Grandpa?"

He told me, "God offers salvation as a free gift. Some people think it’s too good to be true and never act upon it. Some people are skeptical like I was and hesitate to check it out. Then there are people like you, Toph, full of trust and hope. They keep looking until they find. God’s gift is free, but we must act to receive it. Jesus paid the price, but a person must respond and receive it for himself."

"Remember when I trusted Jesus as my Savior at your house last summer? I’m glad I did."

Ephesians 2:8,9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD

1. What is God’s free gift?

2. How can you receive the free gift?

3. Have you accepted God’s gift of salvation?

This material is reprinted by permission from "Kids' Questions About Jesus" and "Kids' Questions about Sin and Salvation,," published by Regular Baptist Press. (www.rbpstore.org/showprod.cfm?prodnum=5308)

Why Did Jesus Die?

I Have a Question About Sin

Who Goes to Heaven?

I Have a Question About Salvation

For Whom Did Jesus Die?

How Does Jesus' Death Help Me?

What Does God Think About Jesus' Death?

How Do I Get the Free Gift?

I Sinned Again, Now What?