The Best Good Deed

Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids

Bible Reading: Isaiah 53:5-6; 64:6; Ephesians 2:8-9

After placing dishes full of fragrant food on the table, Sunita sat down and sighed. "What's wrong, my love?" Mummy asked after they thanked God for their meal.

"Last week I made a plan to do a good deed every day. Or at least not a bad one. I wrote myself a note to remind me," Sunita explained.

"That's nice, but why do you look gloomy?" Mummy asked.

"Because it's the end of the day, and I haven't done a good deed. And I got mad at my friends playing cricket today. I yelled at Anaya and said that I was leaving if I didn't get a turn as the wicketkeeper." Sunita's chin trembled. "I couldn't keep my plan for even one week!"

Mummy scooped a serving of chicken tikka masala onto Sunita's plate. Then she took her daughter's hands in her own. "Sunita, remember last summer when you gave your life to Jesus?"

Sunita nodded. "Yes, I wanted to be right with God, so I confessed that I'm a sinner and asked Jesus to forgive me. Because He died for me. But why do you ask?"

"Why did Jesus die for you, my dear?" Mummy asked.

"Because somebody had to pay for my sins. Jesus died in my place so I can have eternal life."

"That's right, Sunita! We can't keep our own standards, as you have seen. And we certainly can't keep God's standards. That's why we need Jesus. We cannot pay for our wrongs by doing good deeds or by avoiding bad ones. The only way we can have a relationship with God is to receive the gift of forgiveness through His Son."

Sunita took a bite of food and smiled. "So, even if I miss a day of good deeds, or get angry at my friends, I'll still have God's forgiveness?"

"Yes, once we have trusted in Jesus for forgiveness, we don't lose it," Mummy assured her. "We will still do wrong things, but He will always forgive our wrongs, and He'll also help us do good things that show others His love. But our good deeds don't to anything to make us right with God--Jesus did that for us."

"I'll write another note," Sunita announced. "It will remind me to do good deeds--but to remember that Jesus did the best one of all."

–Allison Wilson Lee

How About You?
Do you wonder if you've done enough good works to please God or fear you have too many sins for Him to forgive? Forgiveness and eternal life come only through Jesus, who died to take the punishment for all our sins. We can't earn forgiveness by doing nice things or avoiding bad choices. Knowing God is a gift that becomes ours when we accept it by trusting in Jesus. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page or go to www.keysforkids.org/goodnews.)
Today's Key Verse:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (NIV) (Ephesians 2:8)
Today's Key Thought:
Forgiveness comes only through Jesus