The Book of Life

Judah played outside near his dad, who was working on his car and listening to a sermon on his phone. Judah heard clips of the message--something about a very important book God keeps. The pastor called it the Book of Life. He said only people whose names were written in that book would be allowed into heaven. Wow! I better be good, thought Judah, or else my name might not get in.When Judah started to tease his little sister later that day, he remembered the Book of Life, and so he gave her a ride on his scooter instead. He also took out the garbage without being asked, and he didn't complain when his mom said he couldn't have a cookie so close to suppertime. Judah made a list of all the good things he had done that day and proudly showed it to his dad. "Will God write my name in His book now?" Judah asked."Well, let's think about that," said Dad. "Do you think your teacher at church should write down your name as a winner in the Bible memory contest because you did all these good things? Would that be fair?"Judah looked puzzled and shook his head. "I didn't learn enough verses yet.""That's right," said Dad. "You have to meet the requirement to be a winner in the contest, and it isn't that you need to be good. And you have to meet God's requirement to get your name in His book.""What's that?" asked Judah."God's requirement is that you trust Jesus to be your Savior," said Dad. "Heaven is a perfect place--no sin can enter there. But we're all sinners, and sin must be punished. Jesus took the punishment for our sin so those who trust Him can have their sins forgiven and enter heaven. Would you like to trust Him to take your sin away and write your name in His book?"Judah nodded, and Dad prayed with him. In his mind, Judah could see Jesus writing in a big book in heaven: Judah Ellery. His name was listed in the book--not because of what he had done, but because of what Jesus had done for him.-Matilda H. Nordtvedt