When my older three children were little, they went to a school called Sacred Heart. Each month, the school would send home a news and events letter. The first page of this letter was always a story with a message of morality and hope. In cleaning out some file folders the other day, I found one such story dated February 2007!
This is that story, in which I modified and tweaked just a little:
“One summer, Little Johnny, his sister Sally, and his brother Todd where visiting their grandparents on their farm. Grandpa gave Johnny a slingshot to play with while Sally went fishing and Grandma baked pies with Todd. While Grandma was in the back yard picking apples, Todd dropped her measuring glass and broke it. Feeling sorry, he told her what happened when she came back in. Together, they cleaned up the mess and Grandma grabbed another measuring glass form the cupboard.
Meanwhile, Johnny ran off into the woods to practice his slingshot with some soda cans on an old fence. 1 can… Missed! 2 cans… Missed! 3 cans… Missed again!
Johnny just couldn’t seem to hit a can. Frustrated, he ran back to the house. On his way, he saw a duck sitting at the edge of the pond. Thinking he would miss, Johnny pulled back on his sling and let go.
BAM!!
That duck slumped over like a sack of flour tossed on the floor. Shocked and grieved, Johnny ran to the duck. It was dead alright. He scooped it up and hurried to the barn.
In that moment, Johnny had two choices: Confess to Grandma that he had killed her duck. Or pretend as if nothing happened. He chose to bury the duck behind the old wood shed and walked back to the house where he could smell fresh baked apple pies! Yum!
The next morning at breakfast, grandma gave the children their list of chores for the day. Johnny was to wash and fold the laundry, Sally was to sweep and scrub the floors, and Todd was on dishes duty.
Sally snickered at Johnny and said, ‘Grandma, Johnny said he’d do my chores for me today!’ Puzzled, Johnny opened his mouth to protest. But Sally whispered in his ear, ‘I saw what you did to grandma’s duck.’ He clamped down hard on his jaw and picked up the broom. Sally ran off, feeling most justified. And Todd, well he did his chores and then went off to play and have fun.
The next day at breakfast, Sally once again announced that Johnny offered to do her chores as well. She whispered when she saw Johnny fidgeting in his seat, ‘remember the duck.’
Again, Johnny picked up the broom, Sally snickered, and Todd did his chores and then went off to play.
After several days of doing both his chores and Sally’s, Johnny began to tire. He didn’t feel like going to get ice cream with grandpa, but instead took a nap. The next day, before breakfast, Johnny tapped on Grandma’s arm, ‘Grandma, I have something I want to tell you.’ Grandma sat down and looked at him. ‘The other day I took my slingshot and killed your duck. I’m really sorry.’
Grandma pulled him in for a hug and said, ‘I know. You see, I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. I had hoped you would come to me, knowing that I love you and would forgive you. But instead, I watched Sally make a slave of you. And, now, you only have one day left here on the farm to enjoy yourself.’
The moral of the story is that whatever is in your past, whatever you have done that the devil keeps throwing in your face, you need to know that God was standing at the window watching the whole time. And He saw the whole thing! He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but he forgets. It is by God’s grace and mercy that we are saved.”
In the original story sent to me by Sacred Heart, there was no brother Todd. I added him to show the contrast in how Johnny’s vacation to Grandma’s farm could have gone. Instead he was a slave to his secret, unable to fully enjoy the blessings that awaited him.
Don’t misunderstand. It wasn’t Grandma that withheld those blessings from Johnny. She wanted so much for him to have fun and enjoy his time with her. No. It was his own guilt that kept him from being able to receive the blessing. The same is true for God. When you finally decided to confess your sin to Him is not when He found out about it. He knew the whole time. And the devil likes to whisper your shortcomings and failures in your ear night and day. A constant reminder that you are unworthy of God’s goodness and grace.
But that’s a lie from hell. You may not deserve it, but you are worth every drop of blood your savior shed for you.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
So, go boldly to the thrown of grace when confessing your sins to Him. He will forgive AND forget, I promise!
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John 1:9
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds[a] I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12
In His Service,
Rebecca Hamilton, Founder/ Executive Director
For Every Great Battle, There is a Great Victory!!