Eddie and his neighborhood friends were walking home from school one afternoon. As usual, there was a lot of playful teasing along with daring one another to do silly things. As they walked along the road in the warm sunshine, they saw some pear trees on the other side of a fence. The ripe fruit looked and smelled so good! “Hey,” one of the boys said in a low voice, “let’s climb the fence and pick a few pears! I don’t see the owner anywhere around. And besides, he won’t miss them.”
No sooner had he spoken than all of them, including Eddie, hopped the fence and quickly climbed up the trees. As Eddie was about to steal some fruit (for that is what they were doing), he suddenly remembered a Bible text that hung in their home: “Du Gud seest mig.” Can you understand that? Most of us don’t know Swedish, which is the language Eddie’s parents spoke, but you may know the English version of Genesis 16:13,13And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? (Genesis 16:13) “Thou God seest me.”
Genesis 16 tells the story of an Egyptian woman who ran away from her home and the woman she worked for. When God spoke to her out in the middle of the desert, she realized that He knew where she was and what she had done. He told her to go home, but also promised that He would take care of her. Eddie knew that God loved him and was watching him all the time, and so his conscience was bothering him. His parents had faithfully taught him that God doesn’t like stealing or lying or pride. All those bad things and many more are called sin.
One little girl I know asked her Mom to close the curtain in her room at night, so God couldn’t see her! She must have had a bad conscience like Eddie had as he sat up in that pear tree. We can’t hide from God, and we don’t need to! We can go right to the Lord Jesus and tell Him about our sins. He will take care of them and wash us clean in His blood, the blood that He shed when He died on the cross to save us. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)).
I am glad to tell you that Eddie slid quietly back down the tree that afternoon and hurried home without a single pear in his pocket. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:33The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3)). It is nice to know that the Lord, who loves us so much, is also looking to see any good things you are doing each day. Why don’t you let Him have the joy of seeing you do something good, out of love for Him, today?
Messages of God’s Love 4/18/2021