Bianca’s Baby Book

Read: Psalm 103:11-12; Malachi 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 13:4-5“Look, Bianca!” Mom was sitting on the couch with a big book on her lap. “Here’s a lock of your hair from when you were three months old—and look at your footprint from when you were born.”Bianca grinned. “Wow! It’s really tiny! That’s my baby book, isn’t it? It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at it.”“I wrote all these entries in it during your first three years,” Mom said. “It says you walked and talked early. You took your first step at nine months. You said ‘Dada’ at five months—at least, your dad said you did—and you could sing the ABCs by the time you were two and a half. You were a smart little cookie.”“Really?” Bianca sighed. “Well, I’m not smart anymore. I’m always doing dumb things now.”“That’s not true,” said Mom. “Sometimes you just dwell on your mistakes too much.” She pointed to the book. “Why do you think I didn’t write things like, ‘Today Bianca fell down fifteen times trying to walk’?”Bianca laughed. “That wouldn’t sound too good.”“No, but falling down is part of learning to walk,” said Mom. “I don’t remember how many times you fell, but I do remember that first step. I didn’t record the times you cried for what seemed like hours. But you were a sweet baby, and I recorded that. Moms always write good memories in baby books.” She smiled at Bianca. “Did you know that God has a book of remembrance too?”“He does? Does He only write down good things in His book like moms do?”Mom nodded. “He doesn’t keep a record of the wrong things Christians do. When we trust in Jesus, all our sins are forgiven. He only remembers the good things.”“So He doesn’t want us to feel bad about all the wrong things we’ve done?”Mom shook her head. “Sin does have consequences, and when we do something wrong, Jesus wants us to confess our sin to Him. But it will never show up in God’s remembrance book because Jesus took all our sins on Himself when He died. Instead of dwelling on our mistakes, He wants us to show His love to others and joyfully walk with Him.”–Barbara J. WestbergHow about you? Did you know that, if you’re a Christian, God doesn’t keep a record of your sins? He only remembers the good things you do out of the love He’s put in your heart. So don’t dwell on your failures and mistakes. When you do something wrong, confess it to Jesus. He promises to forgive you and help you do good things that show the love and joy you have in Him.Today’s key verse: Love is patient, love is kind…it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NIV)Today’s key thought: God remembers good things