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TRUST JESUS TODAY

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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: SOUL / SOLE (03/02/23)
“Mom!” ten year old Georgie yelled as he opened the screen door. “Where are you?”

“I’m in the laundry room.”

“Hey mom. Can me and Archie go to the pond and sail our new sailboats?

“Yes son, but keep an eye on your brother. Even though the pond isn’t deep, I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

“Got it mom,” and off Georgie ran to find his brother.

“Hey Archie, want to sail our sailboats down at the pond?” Georgie asked.

“You bet,” said eight year old Archie.

The Johnson home boasted a small pond in the field behind their house. One foot deep at its deepest point. A perfect place for two boys to play and sail their sailboat. The perfect place to get wet and dirty while having fun. And today would be no different.

Sailboats in hand, the boys ran as fast as they could to the pond. “Last one there is a rotten tomato” challenged Georgie.

“Beat you,” Archie said as he gasped for breath.

“I’ll get you next time” said Georgie. “Come on, take off your shoes so we can go wading. I bet my sailboat will sail the fastest. We got a good wind today.”

An hour later, two little boys, feet dirty and clothes wet, grabbed their sailboats and shoes, then headed for home. “That was awesome,” laughed Archie.

“I bet mom won’t be happy with how we look. Our feet are pretty muddy,” lamented Georgie.

Mom watched as the boys ran up from the pond, a horrified look on her face at how dirty they were. As they approached the back door she said, “Oh no you don’t. You’re not coming into my clean kitchen looking like that. The soles of your feet are filthy! Your clothes dripping. Let me get some water so I can clean you up.”

Mom gave the boys a towel to dry themselves off, then they slipped into a clean pair of shorts. Sitting them on the steps she took a dishpan full of warm, sudsy water and began to wash their feet.

“Have you ever heard the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples?” Asked mother.

Both boys nodded their head no.

“Well, it goes something like this. The disciples had been walking all day and the soles of their feet were dirty. They sat down for the Passover meal, dirt and all. In the middle of eating, Jesus did something unusual. He got up from the meal, grabbed a towel and a basin of water, then began to wash the feet of his disciples.”

“Why would he do that mommy?” Asked Archie.

“Well, son, Jesus loved his disciples more than anything and he wanted them to understand the importance of being a servant. Jesus was setting the example for them to follow. There was no better way to show humility than to wash someones feet. But Peter didn’t want his feet washed. He thought keeping the soles of his feet dirty would be just fine. Jesus, however, explained otherwise.”

“How did he do that mom,” Georgie wanted to know.

“Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” In other words, if you want to serve me and be my disciple you need to be clean from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. You need to be one-with-me, with the same goal and the same mission - that of bringing people to understand the Gospel and believe in the Messiah. You need your sins washed away, and only I can do that. The Bible reminds us that Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. He wants to wash peoples sin away so they can serve him.

The Old Testament says this, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation…”

“Are you being a servant, mommy?” Asked Archie.

“I guess I am. I am making you clean from the soles of your feet to the top of your head and Jesus is making certain your soul is clean by forgiving you when you sin. Boys, has Jesus made you clean?”

“Yes mommy” both boys said in unison.

“Mom, remember? I asked Jesus into my heart at Sunday school,” replied Georgie, “then I shared the Good News with Archie and he gave his heart to Jesus. Our soul is clean and our feet beautiful to serve Jesus.”



Scripture taken from Matthew 28:20 (NIV)
Story from John 13:1-17 (NIV)
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This article has been read 279 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Jennifer Woodley 
03/09/23
I love it! You've done a great job combining these two words together. Thank you for sharing this story. Just keep an eye on your speech marks. There is a few missing. Otherwise, well done.
Jennifer Percell
03/10/23
Good job making a sweet picture of a family and a wise mom who shares Jesus in all her activities!
Barbara Culler 
03/14/23
Good job on this. A very enjoyable read!
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
03/14/23
This is a sweet story. I really enjoyed all three characters. You did a fine job of layering the story. Make sure you cap words when used as proper nouns. For example: My mom is home. Are you home Mom? This would be great for a kids' story, but the one thing I'd urge you to do is have the child resolve the conflict instead of the adult. Grown-ups can assist, but kids need to be the hero for that genre. It's an easy fix. When Mom starts to wash their feet, the ten-year-old brother could notice it's like Jesus washing the disciples' feet and tell the story instead of the mother. You did a great job of joining both topics and including them both as the main theme. You also have a great message here. I look forward to reading more of your stories.