Tom was a good boy sometimes, but he could be naughty, too. One day his neighbor drove off in his car and left his garage door open. Tom and a couple of other boys entered the garage and stole some of Mr. Woods’ apples.
That Sunday night, as Tom sat and listened to the gospel, he heard the speaker say, “We are all sinners, but the Lord Jesus loves us. He died on the cross to put our sins away so that we might be forgiven.”
His sin in taking the neighbor’s apples had been bothering Tom, so after the gospel meeting, Tom went to the speaker and unburdened his heart. He told him he was sorry for what he had done and he wished he could know that all his sins were forgiven. Tether they got down on their knees and prayed. Tom told the Lord he wanted to be saved, and he meant it. The Lord heard Tom’s prayer, and that night Tom found forgiveness and peace. Soon after he was baptized.
“Now, Tom,” said his Christian friend, “you must be careful to live a Christian life, but the Lord Jesus will help you. He will help you, to say ‘No’ when you are tempted to do wrong.”
One day one of his friends said to him, “Tom, Mr. Woods has just gone off again and left his garage door open. Let’s go in and get a few apples.”
“No,” said Tom, “I’m not going to steal any more of his apples. The Lord Jesus is my Saviour now, and I want to live to please Him.”
ML-08/15/1976