Come on, Nikko, let’s go get some gas!” Mr. Parker called to his little dog. Nikko came running, tail wagging, and jumped into the front seat next to Mr. Parker for the trip to the gas station.
Nikko is a special little companion to Mr. and Mrs. Parker, and he likes to go with them wherever they are willing to take him. Although he’s just a little dog, he has a big place in their hearts.
After Mr. Parker filled the gas can, he ran inside the station to pay. He knew he’d only be gone a minute or so, so he had not bothered to lock the car. “I’ll be right out, Nikko . . . you wait here,” he’d said to his little buddy. But when Mr. Parker came out, the car was gone and so was Nikko!
Now a car is worth a lot more than a dog, usually, but what do you think the Parkers were more worried about - their car? or their dog? That’s right; they were more concerned about their dog! There are certain things that money cannot buy, and love is one of them. Do you know what it’s like to be loved by someone? Most of you have parents that love you, and maybe you have a special pet that loves you. But no matter who you are, I know of Someone who loves you so much that you’ll never come to the end of learning how much He loves you. Do you know who He is? He is God. He tells us in the Bible, “I have loved [you] with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:33The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jeremiah 31:3)).
The Parkers did everything they could to find their special little pet. They called several police stations and hung posters that offered a reward to anyone who would return their dog safely. Then they waited. And God, who loves you, has done far more to show you His love and to be able to take you safely to His home in heaven. He gave up His only Son to come down to Earth to die for you, because you, too, have been stolen. You have been stolen by Satan, who does not love you and wants to destroy your life with sin and keep you out of heaven. There is one thing God cannot do; He cannot take you to heaven with your sins. There can be no sin in heaven, and so your sins have to be washed away in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan stole us away from God, but God has paid an awful price to redeem us - to buy us back -the blood of His own Son. “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-1918Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18‑19)).
The day after their car and dog disappeared, the Parkers got a call from the police. “Mrs. Parker, we have your car.” The Parkers were told that three teenage boys had been driving it and got stopped by the police. But Nikko was not in the car. He was still missing. The Parkers were so sad as they sat and waited for news of their beloved little dog. Not even getting their car back made them happy. And so, even though God owns the whole world and the whole universe, the one thing He wants more than all of that is your heart. Isn’t that amazing? You are so precious to the God who created the universe, and He says in the book of Proverbs, “My son [and my daughter], give Me thine heart.”
As Mrs. Parker sat and sadly waited, her phone rang again! This time it was a woman. “Mrs. Parker? I have your dog Nikko here. I will return him to you if you will give me the reward and drop the auto theft charges.” This meant they would have to give the reward to the people who probably were the very ones who stole their car and their dog.
But Mrs. Parker didn’t hesitate even a minute. “Yes, I’ll give you the reward and drop the charges! Where can I meet you to get my dog?”
“Outside the police station,” the woman on the phone said.
Mrs. Parker gladly agreed to give the woman the reward so she could have her little dog back in her arms and in her home. And this story is just a little picture of how much God loves you. Just think of the price He paid to have you as His own - the blood of His dear Son! We can’t understand love like this, but He wants to teach you even more wonderful things, if you’ll only come to Him and accept His love. “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)). “Our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity [sin]” (Titus 2:13-1413Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:13‑14)).
ML-01/25/1998