The Frisbee zoomed across the living room, just a bit too high to hit the back of the chair Gavin was aiming at. Crash! Onto the mantel it went, and something fell to the floor. Gavin dashed across the room to see what had fallen.
“Oh, no! Now I’m really in trouble,” he said as he looked down on the floor. The Frisbee had hit his mother’s favorite clock. He picked it up, shook it. The case seemed to be all right. But...“Uh, oh.” There was a noise inside. “I hope it still works.” He placed the clock back on the mantel and checked the time: 10:34. He grabbed up his Frisbee and stuck it in the hall closet, and then went to his room. Half an hour later, he came back into the living room and looked anxiously at the clock. The hands hadn’t moved a bit. He felt sick. Mom really liked that clock. He’d better take it to the repair shop on the corner. Stuffing the clock into a sack, he hopped onto his bike and pedaled as fast as he could to the repairman.
“Do you think you can help me?” Gavin asked, placing the sack on the counter. “I accidentally hit Mom’s favorite clock with my Frisbee and now the hands aren’t moving. Will you please fix them so that they will tell time again?”
The repairman laughed as he said, “The hands will be all right, Gavin. Nothing wrong with them. But if you want me to fix the clock, I will have to repair the inside.”
Have you ever tried to be good and do the right thing but you just acted badly anyway? Perhaps you hit someone even though you really didn’t want to. Maybe you called someone a bad name and wondered afterward, Why did I say that? Maybe your mom told you not to do something but you did it anyway. Trying to do good without God’s help is like trying to make the hands on the clock work without the insides working right.
The repairman had to fix the inside of the clock to make the hands work again. God has to change your heart so that you can do good. The Bible says all have sinned and God is the only One who can take sin out of your heart. You can try and try to act good but you will fail unless you allow God to fix what is wrong inside. He takes the sin out and gives you a new heart.
There is only one way to get a new heart. You tell Jesus how sorry you are for all the wrong things you have done and said. He will know when you really mean it, and He will come in and make you feel happy and clean inside. You won’t have to wonder if He came in. You will know, because you will be able to feel His presence. Not only that, you will be able to see the difference in yourself. Those around you will see the change too.
Then you will find it easy to do good. It won’t be hard to talk right and treat your friends well. You will be obedient to your Mom. When your heart is full of good things, it will show in your everyday life.
When you give Jesus your whole life, He comes into your heart. You are telling Him, “Here is my life, I’m giving it all to You. Do what You want with it.”
In the story, Gavin realized that he hadn’t said exactly what he meant. Of course the hands on the clock couldn’t move right if the insides had not been repaired.
As he went back home with the clock, he was glad he had taken it to the repairman so it could be fixed. He felt so much better now! Even if it had cost him most of his savings, he could hear the clock ticking and see the hands moving again.
The repairman at the corner shop knew all about the clock and just how to fix it. God knows all about you. He knows just what you need in your life. He knows you better than you know yourself, because He made you.
Give your heart and life to Jesus. He will give you a new heart and direct your life according to His will.
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