If you’re new to Exploring with Jake, be sure to read the introduction.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Our teacher finished Manisha’s story this morning. And, we found out that Manisha discovered the best gift she could ever give her mother. Here’s the rest of “The Dokho Basket.” I hope you like it as much as I did.
“Don’t be afraid,” the creature said.
It dropped to the ground beside her. It wasn’t a bear. It was a man with a wool hat on his head and a big pack strapped to his back.
“I thought I saw something in the snow. What are you doing out here?”
Manisha stared at the man.
“My name is Tek. I came here to tell you about Jesus. Do you know he paid for your mistakes?”
Her eyes grew wide. Her people believed that the whole time you lived, you owed a debt. Everything you did wrong was added to the debt. The good things you did made the debt smaller, but you could never know if you’d done enough to pay for everything.
“Who is Jesus?”
“A long time ago, in a village far from our villages here in Nepal, a special baby was born. He was God’s son. He never did one thing wrong. He didn’t have a debt he had to pay. He saw people trying to pay God by doing their best and bringing God gifts. But they couldn’t get it right.”
Manisha looked at her basket. “Just like my dokho basket. I made it for my mother, but she didn’t want it. She said I didn’t do it right.”
Tek stood, reached out his hand, and pulled Manisha from the basket. The snow had stopped, and the sun was beginning to shine.
“I don’t know your mother, Manisha, but I do know Jesus. God only wanted one gift from the people—their hearts. But, their hearts were covered with the debt they owed. God needed a way to make their hearts clean. So, Jesus chose to pay the debt every one of us owes God. He took everything wrong we ever did—or ever will do—and he paid for it by letting people kill him. They cut and bruised him and made him bleed. They put nails in his hands and feet and killed him.”
“But why? My debt wasn’t his fault!”
“Because he loves us. And he knew God’s plan. Three days after Jesus died, he came back to life. He had paid for everyone’s debt. All people had to do now was believe him and ask him to make his payment pay for their debt, too. Then, their hearts could be clean. And they could give them to God.”
She looked at her basket. “Would God even want my heart as a gift?”
Tek nodded.
She’d tried to give gifts before. No one had ever wanted them. How could anyone love her enough to suffer all those things—and even bleed—just for her?
Something red in the snow caught her eyes. She gasped. Tek didn’t have winter boots on his feet, just sandals. And his feet were cut and bleeding from his cold journey.
“Why did you hike all the way up here without boots?”
“I don’t have any, and God told me there were people up here who didn’t know about Jesus.”
Manisha stared at the drops of blood on the snow. Maybe, if a stranger could love her enough to climb a mountain with bleeding feet, then Jesus really loved her, too.
“I would like to ask Jesus for his special gift that will make my heart clean. I want to give my heart to God as a gift.”
Tek smiled. “The way you give your heart to God is by praying. Tell him that you love him and want to give him your heart as a gift.”
Manisha looked up at the bright sunshine overhead. “God, I know I make a lot of mistakes. And, I can never pay for all of them by myself. I believe Jesus paid for my debt and is alive. Please make my heart clean. I am giving it to you as a gift.”
She turned, picked up her basket, and stepped onto the bridge.
“Will you come with me and tell my mother about Jesus? She didn’t want my gift, but maybe she will want God’s gift, the best gift ever.”
“Dear God, thank you for giving us the best gift ever–the gift of Jesus. Please help us to give our moms the best gift we can give by telling them how much Jesus loves them–and how much we love them, too. Help all the moms who have already accepted Your gift to remember how much You love them. And, please help the moms who haven’t received Your gift to pray and ask You to make their hearts clean, too. Then, help us tell everyone else about Your gift for moms and dads and kids everywhere. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.”
You can read “The Dokho Basket” Part One if you missed it.
Enjoy more from the Exploring Jake series.
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