After coming home from school one day, seven year old Sarah approached her father as he was sitting in a chair reading the newspaper, with a desperate question. “Daddy, can I have a bike? I’m the only kid on the block who doesn't have a bike.”

Her father knew well that they didn't have the money for a bike so he stalled her and said, “Sure, Sarah.” She said, “How? When?” He responded, “You save all your pennies, and pretty soon you’ll have enough for a bike.” 

And so, she went about doing odd jobs around the house for her mother, on the hopes that she could earn enough money for the bike she had always dreamed of. 

A couple of weeks later as he was sitting in the same chair, Sarah's father saw her go into the other room and heard a “clink, clink.” He asked, “Sarah, what are you doing?”

She came out holding a little jar, all cleaned up with a slit cut in the lid and a bunch of pennies in the bottom. She looked at her father and said, “You promised me that if I saved all my pennies, pretty soon I’d have enough for a bike. And, Daddy, I've saved every single one of them.”

Her fathers heart melted. She was doing everything in her power to follow his instructions. He hadn't actually lied to her. If she saved all of her pennies she would eventually have enough for a bike, but by then she would probably want a car. Obviously her needs weren't being met. Because he loved her, he said, “Let’s go downtown and look at bikes.”

They went to every store in town until finally they found it—the perfect bicycle, the one she knew in the premortal existence. Sarah got up on that bike so thrilled, until she saw the price tag.  After seeing how much it cost, her face fell and she started to cry. She said, “Oh Dad, I’ll never have enough for a bicycle.”

Her father then asked, “Sarah, how much do you have?”

She answered, “Sixty-one cents.”

Her father looking at his devastated daughter said, “I’ll tell you what. You give me everything you've got and a hug and a kiss, and the bike is yours.” 

Sarah didn't hesitate and immediately handed over the sixty-one cents that she had saved and gave her father a big hug and kiss. Her father then drove very slowly as Sarah insisted on riding her bike next to him on the sidewalk all the way home. 

This story is a great parable for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His grace.We all want something desperately. What we want is the celestial kingdom; to be with our Father in Heaven and no matter how hard we try, we come up short. At some point we realize, we cannot do it on our own.

It is at that point that the sweetness of the Saviors gospel and His grace comes to our taste as the Savior proposes, “I’ll tell you what. All right, you’re not perfect. How much do you have? What can you do? Where are you now? Give me all you've got, and I’ll pay the rest. Give me a hug and a kiss; enter into a personal relationship with me, and I will do what remains undone.”

In 2 Nephi 2:6-7 it reads "Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered."

Christ is there for all of us, to answer the ends of the law and pay the price that is required to return to our Heavenly Father and all he requires is that we give all the we have; a broken heart and a contrite spirit.