God loves us dearly, and because He loves us, He sent His son Jesus to earth.1 Throughout His life on earth, Jesus helped us to better understand what God is like. He spoke of God’s love for us, He showed love to others through His actions, and He lived love. Jesus loved us so much that He gave His own life to bring us salvation.
To receive the gift of salvation is simple; in fact, there is nothing we can do to earn it or work for it. It is free! The Bible says, “You have been saved by grace because you believe. You did not save yourselves. It was a gift from God.”2
Jesus wants to be a part of our lives so that through knowing Him we can draw closer to God and receive forgiveness and salvation. He says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.”3 All we need to do is ask Jesus to come into our hearts and lives, and He will!
We can receive the gift of salvation by admitting that we need God’s love and help in our lives. No one is perfect, we have all done wrong at some time,4 but when we acknowledge that we have done wrong and we ask God to forgive us and help us to do right, He forgives us and wipes away our sins.
That is the gift of salvation!
When we ask Jesus into our hearts, He is there forever. He will never leave us.5 Even if you make mistakes along the way, Jesus promised that He would never turn away anyone who comes to Him.6 He may correct us for our sins and disobediences, but we will always be His children.
When Jesus comes into our hearts, our lives are changed forever. Salvation is like being born again—we become a new and different person.7 We become a little bit more like Jesus!
If you haven’t yet received Jesus into your heart and life, simply believe and pray this prayer:
Dear Jesus,
I believe that You are the Son of God, and that You came to earth so that I could get to know more about God. I want to know more about You, so I invite You into my heart and life. I ask that You help me to grow closer to You each day.
Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me the gift of salvation. Please help me to do my best to do what is right, so that I can show others an example of Your love and joy.
In Jesus’ name I ask. Amen.
Footnotes:
1 John 3:16
2 Ephesians 2:8 ICB
3 Revelations 3:20 ICB
4 See Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23.
5 See Hebrews 13:5.
6 See John 6:37.
7 See 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible® (ICB), copyright © 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.Authored by Shanna Landon. Illustrated by Zeb. Colored by Ana Fields. Designed by Roy Evans.Published by My Wonder Studio. Copyright © 2022 by The Family International.