Diluted or Pure
 

Diluted or Pure

SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

THE STORY FOR TODAY:

"Mom, what's wrong with these ice cubes?" asked Ava. "They're all brown!"

Mom glanced at the dark cubes and grinned. "I used iced tea to make those," she explained. "I made them for Grandpa. You know how he loves good, strong iced tea on hot summer days."

"Oh, I get it!" Ava nodded and smiled at her grandfather who was sitting at the kitchen table. She knew he disliked his tea watery and weak, the way it became when too many ice cubes melted in it. She popped several of the brown cubes into a tall glass and poured fresh iced tea over them. "Here you are, Grandpa. Pure tea, unspoiled by ordinary ice cubes."

"Thanks, honey," said Grandpa, taking the tea. "Just the way I like it," he added after enjoying a big swallow. "These ice cubes remind me of a Scripture passage that urges Christians to be pure and undiluted by the world."

Mom and Ava exchanged knowing glances. It seemed to Ava that Grandpa could find a spiritual lesson in almost everything. "The Bible tells us to come away from sinful things and be separated unto God," continued Grandpa. "He says righteousness and unrighteousness don't belong together."

"Why do those ice cubes remind you of that?" asked Ava.

"When you use regular ice cubes, they melt into the iced tea, and it becomes diluted-weak and tasteless," explained Grandpa. "When we allow worldliness-unrighteousness-to come into our lives, it makes our testimony weak and ineffective. Living like the world dilutes our witness for Jesus."

Mom nodded agreement. "There's so much pressure to dress, act, talk, and think like the world," she said. "If we're not careful, we forget that we belong to Jesus, and we begin to 'follow the crowd' and live a weak, diluted life-like those in the world."

Ava nodded. Grandpa and Mom are right, she thought. I'll have to remember the iced tea cubes when I'm tempted to go along with what the other kids are doing even though I know they're wrong.

MEMORY VERSE:

"Come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. 2 Corinthians 6:17

HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do things such as selfishness, bad TV, or foul language dilute your testimony? Do you try to dress just like the other kids in your group, even if their clothes are immodest or contain words or pictures God would not approve? Do you try to act like kids whose ways are displeasing to God? Don't pollute your life with impure things. Live a pure life before God and others-a life that backs up your testimony for Jesus.

THE KEY: Live a pure life
Keys for Kids Daily Devotional for August 8, 2007