Listen to the Call

"Can I go out and play now?" Dylan asked. "Can I go too?" asked Molly, Dylan's younger sister. Mom nodded, and the kids took their plates to the sink and then hurried out the door. Dylan went straight for his bike that he had thrown in the middle of the yard when his mom had called them in for dinner. Molly went to the driveway and continued working on her chalk drawing. They were not outside long when they heard the rumbling of thunder. Soon rain started to fall fast and hard. "Molly! Dylan!" Mom called. "Come inside before you get soaked!" Molly knew there was nothing she could do to save her chalk drawing, so she quickly gathered her chalk and ran into the house. Dylan, however, continued to ride his bike in the rain. "Dylan!" Mom called again. "It's not safe to be out there when there's lightning. You need to come in right now."Just then a huge bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Dylan quickly threw down his bike and ran inside. "Wow, that was scary!" Dylan said, water dripping from his clothes. "You should have listened to me the first time I called," said Mom. "Go put on your pajamas and then come to the living room for devotions." This time Dylan was quick to do what he was told. "I thought tonight we would read about Noah's ark," Mom said, opening her Bible. "Dylan, when I was watching you out in the storm, it made me think of all those people long ago who ignored the warning that a huge storm was coming. But when God told Noah to build an ark so he and his family could be saved from the flood, Noah listened.""The storm outside isn't going to cause a flood like that, is it?" asked Molly. Mom smiled and shook her head. "No, but the story of Noah's ark reminds us that God is calling all sinners to come to Him and be saved from the storm of sin, and we need to listen to His call. We can only be saved by Jesus, who washes away our sin when we turn to Him for forgiveness." -Melissa Yeagle