Carl and Benny were good friends and had lots of fun together. It seemed that when one was being good or doing something nice, so was the other one. But the opposite was also true that when one got into trouble, the other one got into trouble with him.
One day the two boys went to the shoe-repair shop so Carl could get new rubber heels put on his shoes. They waited while Mr. Brown, the shoe repairman, put on the new heels. On the way home Benny told Carl he had discovered something while they were waiting.
"There's a peach tree in back of that shop, and it has ripe peaches on it. Let's sneak over and get some."
"That wouldn't be right," Carl told Benny, but his mouth watered when he thought about the peaches. "That would be stealing, wouldn't it?"
"Oh, we won't take very many," answered Benny, "just enough for the two of us to eat. I've got a basket just the right size. Let's go over there tonight and take just a few of them. Nobody will ever miss them."
"But what if we get caught? They'll put us in jail!" Carl said, worried.
Benny laughed. "Oh, we won't get caught. Don't worry about that. Anyway, they won't put us in jail for taking a few peaches."
That night after it was dark, Carl and Benny crept through the tall grass near the tree and reached it without being seen. Carl held the basket while Benny picked the peaches one from this branch and one from another branch.
"This way," he whispered to Carl, "no one will miss them."
As soon as the basket was full they crept back though the grass and then ran to Carl's barn. They planned to hide the peaches there and eat them in the next few days.
By the time they reached the barn Carl was fighting a battle inside. He was pretty sure no one had seen them, but even that did not seem to help him.
"Benny, we are thieves!" he said shaking his head.
"Hey, nobody saw us," Benny resisted.
"That doesn't matter. We know what we did. Just because no one else knows about it doesn't make any difference. We are still thieves!" Carl insisted.
The two boys argued for some time about it until Benny finally asked, "So what are you gonna do about it? If I'm a thief, so are you."
"I'm returning my half of the peaches tomorrow," answered Carl. "I don't want to have this awful feeling all the time. I'll tell Mr. Brown that I took them."
Benny called Carl a quitter, and they went home mad at each other.
The next morning Carl put half of the peaches in a bag and slowly walked back to the shoe-repair shop.
"Hello, young man," Mr. Brown said cheerfully as Carl entered the shop. "What can I do for you today?"
"I have some peaches here... "
"Well, well," Mr. Brown interrupted, "so you brought back part of the peaches you took last night. Where's Benny with his peaches?"
Carl's mouth opened in surprise! "Who told you?" he finally managed to ask.
"Something that can't talk," Mr. Brown said. "Come with me and I'll show you."
Out under the peach tree Mr. Brown kneeled down and pointed to some footprints in the soft dirt. "You know those new heels I put on your shoes yesterday? I put the very same kind on Benny's shoes last week. They were the only two pairs of that kind that I had left. Look, they fit exactly into the prints in the dirt. As soon as I saw these footprints this morning, I checked the tree and could see that some peaches had been taken, and I knew who had taken them. I'm glad you brought them back, Carl. Go find Benny and bring him here. I have something to say to both of you."
As Carl ran to find Benny he was thankful he had gone back to Mr. Brown. He had no trouble finding Benny, and they went back to Mr. Brown's together.
"Boys, I could have reported both of you either to the police or to your parents, but I decided not to. Instead, I want to talk to you about what really made you take my peaches."
Mr. Brown, who loved the Lord Jesus, explained to the boys that all of us are sinners, and that we all commit sins. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23). Since each of us is a sinner, we need the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. He is the only One who can save us from the punishment our sins deserve. Mr. Brown explained that they must come to God, admitting they are sinners, and accept the Lord Jesus as the One who died for their sins on the cross and shed His blood as payment for them. He told them how much God loved them and wanted them to be saved. They also heard that "as many as received Him [Jesus Christ], to them gave He power [authority] to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:1212But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12).
Boys and girls, have you realized that "your sin will find you out"? Num. 32:2323But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23). You cannot do wrong and get away with it, as Benny thought. God sees everything we do, and sooner or later we will have to pay for our sins. Have you admitted that you are a sinner and cannot please God, and that you need the Lord Jesus to save you from sin and punishment? Why not come to Him and confess your sins and ask Him to be your Savior.