Dirty Connection

Read: Luke 11:37-39 “Sean, the family shelter downtown needs donations. I’ve collected some items. How about donating some of your toys?” Sean knelt in front of his toy box. “I don’t have any toys I want to give away, Mom.” “What about this car?” Mom asked. “I haven’t seen you playing with it in a while, and I’m sure any little boy would love to have it.” Sean looked at the remote control race car his mom was holding. “It doesn’t work anymore.” “Let’s have dad take a look at it. Maybe he can get it running again. Then would you like to donate it?” “I guess. I do have a lot of toys.” After supper Sean handed his father the race car. “Can you fix this, Dad? It doesn’t work anymore. I’d like to give it to a kid at the shelter.” “Let’s take a look at it.” Dad examined the body of the race car. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t be working. This car looks as good as new.” Sean followed his dad to the garage. After taking the screw out of the lid holding the batteries, Dad held the car out for Sean to see. “I think we’ve found the problem.” “Eww!” Sean said. “What is that?” “It’s corrosion, and the build-up has caused the electrical connection to be broken.” “Can you fix it?” Sean asked. “I think so. But first we’ll need to clean the inside of the battery pack.” Sean’s dad handed him a cloth and a little brush and showed him how to clean the inside. “This is like the story Pastor Tim told on Sunday, isn’t it, Sean? About how Jesus told people they were making the outside of themselves clean but ignoring the nasty stuff on the inside. Do you remember?” Sean nodded. “He said it doesn’t matter how good you look to others. If your heart is dirty, you’re broken and disconnected from God.” “Right. That’s why we need Jesus.” Dad replaced the old batteries with new ones and reattached the lid. “When we trust in Him, He cleans our hearts and makes us run as good as new—just like this car.” “Wow,” Sean said, watching the car zoom across the floor. “It is as good as new!” –Sharon Mowery How about you? Do you try hard to make your life look clean when you’re really broken and dirty on the inside? No matter what good things you do, you can’t be clean until Jesus removes the sin from your heart. He makes you clean and new so your heart can work the way it’s supposed to. Trust Him to give you a clean heart today. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?) Today’s key verse: He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. Titus 2:14 (NLT) Today’s key thought: Jesus cleans our hearts