GRANDMOTHER said, "But why should God want to save us? Why should He care about bad people with black, wicked hearts? Do you love the people who don't love you?”
Helen said, "I don't. I don't love them at all.”
Winnie said, "I couldn't love people who are unkind to me. I shall never, never love my cousin Mary. She threw my doll down stairs and broke it, on purpose to make me unhappy.”
Grandmother said, "That shows that your heart is not like the heart of God. You could not love your cousin Mary because she broke your doll; but God could love the people who killed His Son. That very day God showed how much He loved them. That very day God opened the gate of heaven that sinners, saved from their sins, might go in to live with Him. That very day a thief, who had mocked at the Lord Jesus, went into heaven to be with God forever. God saved these people because He loved them so much. He did not love them for anything that was good in them. He loved them because He is good. We love people who love us, and who are kind to us. God could love the people who hated Him, though He hated their sin. You see how different you are from God.”
Mary said, "I know a text that says, God is love.'”
“Yes," grandmother said. "That text tells us why God saves us. But now I want you all to understand how God saves us. Suppose the Son of God had never become a man, and had never died, why could not God have saved sinners? Why could He not have said I will forgive you all, and let you come to be in heaven with Me?”
Winnie said, "I don't know why.”
Helen said, "I think I know. It would have made us think God didn't mind naughtiness.”
Grandmother said, "That is quite true. And we should have thought too that wickedness did not matter. We should never have known what a dreadful thing it is. But there is another reason besides why God could not take wicked people just as they are into heaven. Would you like to be in heaven if it were filled with selfish, cruel, wicked people, who had no love in their hearts?”
The little girls said they would not. "I think it would be a dreadful place," Winnie said.
“So then," grandmother said, "there were two things which God shows us about our sins. First, He shows us how bad they are, and what a dreadful punishment they deserve; next, that His people's sins are taken away, so that when He has us in heaven, there will be no selfishness, no pride, no rudeness, no lying there, nothing, nothing that is wrong. Now tell me what is the first thing God shows us?”
Helen said, "How bad our sins are, and what a dreadful punishment they deserve.”
Grandmother said, “You see God could have shown us that by sending us forever into hell. But God loved us too much to like to do that. And yet sin must be punished, because it deserves punishment.
“God made the wonderful plan that the Son of God should become a man, and bear the punishment His people deserve. You know God had said. ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' And the beloved Son of God came from heaven to die instead of us. It was not only that He was nailed to a cross by wicked men, but God turned away from Him as He hung upon the cross. God treated Him as we deserve to be treated, He made Him sin for us'
“When Jesus died, the sins He suffered for were put away. God made Him alive again, and took Him into heaven.
“I can say to you who belong to Jesus, the blood of Jesus was shed for you. He died instead of you. So now you see what this red page means. It tells us of the blood of Jesus. Jesus suffered for us.
“Now I want you all to learn a little text. It is quite short. You may count the words upon your fingers. Christ died for our sins.' Say these words six times.”
The little girls did so.
“Now," said grandmother, "one text more. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.'”
The little girls said these words six times also.
“Now you know," grandmother said," what the red page means. It tells us of the blood Jesus shed for sin, and if you believe on Jesus you will see how much He loves you, and you will love Him too. Oh! how much you will love Him when you really believe, and when you think why He saved you, and how He saved you!”