"Hey, Grandpa, can we go for a hike in the woods behind your house?" Asher asked eagerly when he visited his grandfather one Saturday morning.
"Let's do it," said Grandpa. "Want to take a picnic lunch along?"
"Yeah!" Asher replied, and soon they were off on their adventure.
They hiked all morning and had a great time--until Grandpa tripped over a log and fell. "Grandpa!" Asher exclaimed in dismay, looking at his grandfather's leg, which had been cut by a broken bottle sticking out of the ground. There was a huge gash, and it bled severely. "You need a doctor!" said Asher.
Grandpa grunted. "I don't need help," he said stubbornly. "We're almost back home anyway. I'll be fine!" But after taking only a few steps, he had to sit down again. "I guess it's a pretty deep cut," he said faintly.
"Give me your cell phone, Grandpa," Asher demanded. "I'm calling for help!" Grandpa nodded and handed him his phone.
It wasn't long before Grandpa was on his way to the hospital. When Asher was allowed to go into his grandfather's room, he looked in awe at tubes carrying blood into Grandpa's veins. "Mom said you lost a lot of blood," Asher told him.
"I know," said Grandpa. He pointed to the tubes. "I'm glad somebody gave this blood. I needed it! I probably would have died without it."
"That's what Mom said." Asher was quiet for a moment. "You know what, Grandpa?I just thought of something we talked about in church last week." He studied his grandfather's face. Grandpa always said he had no need for God, and he usually dismissed anything Asher said about God or church with a wave of his hand.
But Grandpa didn't dismiss him this time. "What's that?" he asked.
"Just like somebody gave the blood that kept you alive here on earth, somebody gave His blood so you can have eternal life," Asher said. "Jesus died for your sins on the cross."
Grandpa frowned, but then nodded. "I figured I'd always get along just fine on my own," he said. "I guess this accident shows I'm really not as independent as I thought." He looked at Asher. "Okay. Tell me more. Maybe I do need Jesus."
-Jan L. Hansen
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you like to do things for yourself? That’s often a good thing, but don’t forget there are some things you can’t do on your own. None of us can do anything to save ourselves from sin. We all need Jesus. He shed His blood on the cross to pay for our sins so we could have eternal life. Have you accepted His gift of salvation?
TODAY'S KEY VERSE: Colossians 1:14 (KJV)
In [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (NKJV)