The Birthday Gift

"I had fun today," said Marcos when his mom came to say goodnight. He had spent the afternoon at a birthday party for his friend Liam. "Liam really likes the game I gave him," Marcos said with a grin. "Some of us played it with him for a while at the party.""I'm glad he liked it," said Mom. "I really like it too," said Marcos. "It's a fun game!" He yawned loudly, and Mom laughed. "I think it's time to pray so you can go to sleep," she said.After they prayed together, Mom tucked Marcos into bed. He looked up at her with a puzzled expression. "Mom, how do you know for sure if you're really saved?" he asked as he pulled the covers up to his neck."Do you understand that Jesus died for your sins and that you can't save yourself?" asked Mom.Marcos nodded. "Sure--I know all about that, and I trusted Jesus as my Savior last spring. But sometimes I still do things that are wrong, and that makes me wonder about it.""Well, all Christians sin sometimes, Marcos, but that doesn't change the fact that we're saved. Think about that game you took to Liam's party today. You really like it, so did you bring it home again when the party was over?" Marcos shook his head. "No, it's Liam's. I gave it to him.""What if he's mean to you tomorrow?" asked Mom. "Then will you take the game back?""Of course not!" said Marcos. "It belongs to Liam now, not to me.""That's right," Mom said. "You gave it to him as a gift, so it's his. And when you trusted Jesus to forgive your sins and save you, God gave you a gift--the gift of eternal life. You didn't earn it, just like Liam didn't earn the game you gave him. And just like you gave it to him to keep, God gave you eternal life to keep. He won't take back His gift either.""Whew!" Marcos sighed with relief. "I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore." He yawned again. "'Night, Mom," he said, snuggling down in his bed. – Dean A. Fowler