Kids Bible Devotional for May 9, 2024
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Focus Verse
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. (KJV)
Jump Start
“Some say that the two hardest words to say are, 'I’m sorry.'"
Saying I’m sorry often means admitting we were wrong. That can be very hard on our egos. Admitting we made a mistake is a great start to rebuilding relationships. And relationships are so much more important than our pride.
In fact, when it comes to rebuilding our connection with God, it often starts with confession. 1 John 1:9 reads, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” God does not like pride, but He is attracted to humility.
At the very heart of “I’m sorry” is faith in forgiveness. When we say, “I’m sorry,” often times we want to be forgiven. But we can offer forgiveness even when someone who was in the wrong does not say “I’m sorry” to us. This is not about condoning what they’ve done, but freeing ourselves of any hard feelings we can harbor against another person. We cannot lend a helping hand to a friend or neighbor if our hand is clinched in a fist. This is the subject of today’s devotion.
Today's Devotion
Sonya slammed her lunch tray onto the cafeteria table to get Cristina’s attention. Cristina looked up as Sonya sat in the chair across from her, smirking.
“So, guess who I saw crying after first period today?” Sonya asked.
“Who?” Cristina replied.
“Cindy. Probably because she felt bad about lying on you the other day to Mr. Johnson and getting you into trouble.”
“She apologized for that, you know.”
“So what? Serves her right. And to think she was our friend. Well, I’ll have nothing to do with her anymore. Not after the way she treated you.”
“You should know that the reason she was crying was not about me. She just found out that her mother has cancer,” Cristina said.
“Oh, yeah. And, how do you know that?”
“Because she called me last night to tell me. We spent a lot of time talking things out. You need to let it go, Sonya. Cindy made a mistake, but she’s still our friend.”
“But she did you wrong. How can you be so forgiving?”
Cindy tossed her half-eaten sandwich into her lunch box. “That’s what friends do. Besides, she feels really bad about telling Mr. Johnson I helped her cheat on the test. She got scared when Mr. Johnson confronted her about her test answers. I didn’t know she was copying off me. Mr. Johnson eventually found out what was going on in her life. He let her retake the test and gave me back my original grade.”
“Still, you shouldn’t have been called out like that for no reason.”
“Listen, if Jesus can forgive her for lying, so can I,” Cristina said.
Sonya picked at her noodles with the end of the fork. “I suppose you’re right. To tell you the truth, I miss hanging out with her. It’s terrible about her mom. I really want to be there for her.”
“Then let it go. I did,” Cristina said.
Wrap Up
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (ESV).
Sometimes people we care about make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes hurt our feelings. It’s awesome when we can talk things out in a loving way. But whether we can or whether we can’t, we should be slow to judge and quick to forgive.
Have you ever had someone forgive you for a mistake you made? Didn’t it feel good? Imagine the things God forgives, and yet He still has compassion on humankind. He’s our role model.
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