Daily Devotion, July 18, 2020

Devotion: Read Luke 15.

  Some call this the “Lost and Found Chapter” because it has three stories Jesus told about something that was lost, but then was found: a sheep, a coin, a son. Each one is of much value to a shepherd, a woman and a father and they each do something extraordinary to find or connect with what they lost.

  In each story, we can see ourselves as one or more of the characters. They are real-life, everyday situations to which we can relate. They draw us in. That is the genius of Jesus’ parables.

  Parables can have various levels of nuance and therefore be very personal. What you get from it, how it speaks to you, may be very different from others. Still, there are often some key messages within each one that are there for everybody. I would suggest that this group of three parables Luke gives us here have at least one shared message: you are valuable to God and God will go to great lengths to find you when you are lost and reconnect with you when you leave.

Adult Challenge:

Think about those times in your life when you felt lost or disconnected from God. Who or what did God use to find you?

Youth Challenge:

It is hard (especially as a teenager) to understand and appreciate your own worth. In these three stories we learn how important we are and that God will fight for us. We see the story of someone with one hundred sheep. After discovering one is missing, he leaves the ninety-nine (sounds like a song) to go find the one. Or when the woman has ten coins and then stops everything to find the missing one. You are worthy and God is not bothered with what you have done. He loves you and wants you.

Children's Challenge:

• Make a line with masking tape on the floor and have family members stand on it.
• Read a scenario from the list below.
• If people think the situation is fair, they jump in front of the line. If they think it is unfair, they jump behind the line.
• As you go through the scenarios, ask why they thought the situation was fair or unfair.
• After each scenario is discussed, ask: “Is forgiveness about fairness?” One of the goals of this activity is to emphasize that while situations may be unfair, forgiveness is not about being fair; forgiveness is deciding someone who has wronged you doesn’t have to pay.
• For each scenario, give an opportunity to share an example of what they might miss out by not forgiving.

Scenarios:

• A friend is talking to you during class. You aren’t talking back and you are trying to do your work. The teacher hears your friend and both of you get in trouble for disrupting the class. Fair or unfair? You are right; it is so unfair you got in trouble. Is forgiveness about fairness? (Wait for kids to answer.) Your friend says he is sorry for getting you into trouble. What can you miss out on if you decide not to forgive him?

• You are assigned a group project at school. You and your partner played video games instead of working on the project and you both got a bad grade on it. Fair or unfair? Yes, it is fair; you didn’t put in the work so you didn’t get a good grade. But let’s say you worked really hard on the project and you did most of the work but you and your partner both get an A even though you did most of the work. Fair or unfair? Sure, it isn’t fair you do the work and your partner gets an A. Is forgiveness about fairness? (Wait for kids to answer.) You are so angry with your teacher for not noticing that you did most of the work and you’re angry that you were paired with someone who didn’t help. What can you miss out on if you don’t forgive your teacher? What about your partner? Should you forgive him? Why or why not?

 

• Tommy's parents let him go to PG-13 movies, but your parents say you have to wait until you’re actually 13. Fair or unfair? Is forgiveness about fairness? What can you miss out on by pouting and not forgiving your parents for having different rules than your friend’s parents?

• You called dibs on the last piece of chocolate cake and your sister ate it before you got home from soccer practice. Fair or unfair? Is forgiveness about fairness? What can you miss out on by not forgiving your sister and refusing to talk to her?

• Your dad is late AGAIN picking you up after tutoring. He promised he would be on time today and he wasn’t! Fair or unfair? Is forgiveness about fairness? What can you miss out on by not forgiving your dad?

• Your friend promised she would save you a seat at the lunch table and when you got to lunch there was nowhere for you to sit. Your friend forgot to save you a seat! Fair or unfair? Is forgiveness about fairness? What can you miss out on by not forgiving your friend?

• There is a kid at your school who always says mean things to you and your friends. Fair or unfair? Is forgiveness about fairness? You and your friends tell the teacher how he treats you and he gets in trouble but what can you miss out on by not forgiving him?

What You Say:

“In some of those situations, it would be really hard to show forgiveness. If someone was mean to me, it would hurt my feelings and I would be really mad too. It would be difficult to show forgiveness to someone who didn’t treat me the way they wanted to be treated. But I know, though God doesn’t promise things will always be fair, God does promise to forgive me. Forgiveness isn’t about being fair. It’s about remembering that God has forgiven YOU and remembering when you don’t forgive, you miss out. And because of your love for God and through God’s power, you can forgive others. It’s not easy, but it’s always worth it.”