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I sinned again, now what?

"Mom, can I have a sheet of paper?" Bobbie is always asking Mom for paper to color on.

"Sure, Bobbie, what are you drawing?"

"A special picture for you and Dad. I can’t tell you."

Mom was working on some crafts at the kitchen table, while Bobbie colored.

A while later, Bobbie asked, "Mom, can I have another sheet of clean paper?"

"Yes, Bobbie." Mom gave her a sheet. "How are you coming on your picture?"

"Not too good. I keep messing up. Maybe you can give me five more sheets."

"No, Bobbie, work with what you have for now, and if you need more, I’ll give it to you. I don’t mind your asking. I like to have you talk to me. Besides, it helps me to know how you’re coming along with your work." then Mom and Bobbie worked on their projects and talked about different stuff.

It wasn’t too long until Bobbie messed up again. "Mom, do you have another sheet of paper for me?"

"Yes, but let’s talk about why you keep messing up. Are you making the same mistake every time? Is there some way I could help you?"

Bobbie showed Mom her messed-up papers. "Yes. I’m trying to draw a house like ours, and I can’t do it right. Can you draw one for me to copy?"

So Mom drew a house, and Bobbie copied and colored it. When Megan and I came into the kitchen, Bobbie showed us the picture. It was pretty good.

Bobbie gave the paper to Mom, and Mom hugged her. "It’s for you, Mom. I finally got it right. Thanks for helping me. Thanks for giving me new paper when I messed up."

"You’re welcome, honey." Mom hung Bobbie’s picture on the refrigerator.

Then Megan asked, "What did you mess up?" And Bobbie told us what had happened.

I told Bobbie the house looked good. But Megan must have been thinking about something else. She asked, "Mom, how does God feel when we keep messing up? You know, keep sinning? Does He ever get angry and throw us out of His family?"

"No, Megan, the Bible says that God is long-suffering."

"What’s ‘long-suffering’ mean?"

"It means that He sticks with us a very long time. He keeps forgiving and forgiving."

I guess Megan still wasn’t sure about that. "Does God ever say, ‘That’s enough,’ and give up on us?" she asked.

"The Bible says that if we do wrong all the time, we’re probably not God’s children. If were really born into God’s family, we would not continually sin. Every time we tell God our sins, God forgives us. The Bible says He is ‘faithful . . . to forgive,’ but we must do our part."

"What’s our part, Mom?" Megan was asking all these questions.

"It’s obeying God and His Word and confessing our sins to Him when we disobey. ‘Confessing’ means telling God what we did wrong. God changes our hearts when we are born into His family. Then what we do should change too. God gives us a special new heart attitude, and He changes our mind about sin to help us."

Megan nodded, so I guess it made sense to her. "Mom, you were sort of being like God when you helped Bobbie every time she messed up."

Mom just nodded and smiled.

Bobbie gave Mom another hug. They hug a lot. "Mom, thanks for helping me over and over like God. I love you."

I John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOU CHILD

1. How is God long-suffering to you?

2. What does the Bible say about a person who sins all the time?

3. If you are saved, what are you to do when you sin?

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)

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I Sinned Again, Now What?