Mom was tired! She’d had a busy day, so 10-year-old Mark kindly volunteered to make lunch. He would make tunaburgers, which the whole family liked.
Mark opened and drained three cans of tuna. Then he grated a big pile of cheddar cheese and chopped a small onion into tiny pieces. Mark enjoyed working in the kitchen, and he liked to help his mom too. With seven children to take care of, his mom often needed some help.
Mark mixed the tuna, cheese and onion in a big bowl and added just the right amount of salad dressing. Now he only needed to add the salt and pepper. He sprinkled in the salt and picked up the pepper shaker. But when he turned it upside down to shake some in, the top came off and the whole shakerful of black pepper poured into the bowl. Horrified, Mark glanced around quickly to see if anyone was looking, but no one was. Instead of taking out most of the pepper, all he could think of was how to hide it.
Hiding a mistake is being dishonest. It might seem to work for a while, but in the end it makes things worse. God’s book the Bible tells us that “he that [covers] his sins shall not prosper: but whoso [confesses] and [forsakes] them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:1313He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)).
Mark stirred and stirred until the pepper was totally mixed in. The tuna mixture looked a bit gray, but he hoped no one would notice. In spite of feeling guilty, he kept telling himself that everything would be alright as he spooned the tuna onto the hamburger rolls, wrapped each one in foil, and popped them into the oven.
Soon it was lunchtime. The tunaburgers smelled good, and everyone was hungry as they came to the table. Mom thanked Mark for fixing lunch, Dad thanked the Lord for the food, and then everyone reached for a tunaburger and took a big bite.
“Ugh! What did you do to these tunaburgers?” chorused the family. Only Mark took more than one bite.
Just as Mark couldn’t hide what happened for long, we need to realize that we can’t hide anything from God, because He knows everything we do. He even knows the thoughts that pass through our minds. And yet, we don’t need to be afraid to be honest with Him, because He loves us, no matter what we have done. He says, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee” (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)).
In His perfect love, He made a way to take away our sins forever when Jesus died on the cross. You only need to come to Him, not pretending you haven’t sinned, but just because you have sinned and need to be saved. If you tell God that, the Lord Jesus will gladly be your Savior and take away your sins. And then you can have peace, because He said, “[Your] sins and [your] iniquities will I remember no more”
(Hebrews 8:1212For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12)).
Messages of God’s Love 9/1/2024