Bible Reading: Isaiah 64:6-7; Ephesians 2:8-10

"All right!" Oliver exclaimed as his mom presented him with a pair of bright new sneakers. "They're just what I wanted!"

"I'm glad you like them," said Mom. "But let's try to keep them clean. Save them for school or when you're out with your friends. You have plenty of old shoes to wear when you're in the yard or playing basketball at the park."

"Okay, Mom," Oliver said as he put on the new shoes.

He did remember to be careful with them for a while, but one day when he came into the house, he left a trail of muddy tracks through the kitchen.

"Stop right there, Oliver! Oh, your new sneakers--they're a mess!" Mom pointed to his mud-caked shoes.

"I'm sorry, Mom," said Oliver. "I forgot I had them on. Mrs. Alberts needed help in her garden, and I guess I went a little bonkers with the garden hose."

Mom sighed, shaking her head. "It was nice of you to help her, Oliver, but in spite of your good deed, your shoes are still dirty."

"Yeah." Oliver looked down at his feet and sighed. "They look pretty bad." Then he smiled. "It's kinda like the verse we learned at church last week. My teacher said it's easy to think that the good things we do can cover up the wrong things we've done. But the verse we learned says our good deeds are like dirty rags--or in this case, dirty sneakers. They can't make us clean."

"That's right," Mom said. "Nothing we do can ever clean up the sin in our lives. That's why we need Jesus." She bent over to help Oliver pull off his dirty shoes. "Jesus promises that when we confess our sins to Him, He will forgive us and wash us white as snow."

"Can you forgive me too, Mom?"

Mom smiled. "Of course I'll forgive you, Oliver."

"I'll try to be more careful." Oliver looked at his muddy shoes. "Will you make my sneakers clean again?"

"Not as clean as Jesus can make your heart," said Mom. "But I'll do my best. Bring them over to the sink and I'll check the cleaning supply cabinet."

–Nathan Runyon