Daily Devotional for October 11, 2021
Jesus’s Boat
With a big grin for the camera, Cruz held up the redfish he had just caught. “My first catch ever!”
Papi helped Cruz release the fish from the hook, then picked up his own fishing pole. “Now it’s my turn!”
Cruz and his father were on a fishing trip with some friends from church. One of them had a boat and had invited a small group to go fishing in the gulf.
The day was warm and sunny, and most everyone had caught at least one fish. But the trip wasn’t perfect. Diego’s father had brought a cooler of beer and seemed to be drinking one after another. The more he drank, the louder he talked. He goofed around so much that he almost fell overboard. Cruz could tell Diego was embarrassed.
“I don’t get it, Papi,” Cruz told his dad at dinner that night. “Diego’s dad goes to our church, but he wasn’t acting like someone who listens to God!”
“Every Christian fails to listen to God sometimes—including us.” Papi sat back in his chair. “Do you remember Noah and the ark?”
“Of course!” Cruz answered. “But what does Noah have to do with Diego’s dad?”
“I think I know,” said Cruz’s older sister, Lucia. “Noah got drunk with wine after he got off the ark.”
“That’s right, Lucia. God saved Noah and his family because Noah trusted God, not because Noah never made bad decisions. God knew ahead of time that Noah would sin, but He still kept him from drowning. He saved Noah because He loved him, and He also loves us even though we’re sinners. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins—so we could be saved too.”
Cruz thought for a moment. “I guess Jesus is like our ark.”
“That’s right,” said Papi. “And even though Jesus has saved us, living in a broken world means we still struggle with sin—all of us. But Jesus forgives us and helps us do better, and as rescued sinners who are safely afloat on Jesus’s boat, we should forgive others and help them too.”
“I’m going to call Diego,” Cruz said. “He probably needs a friend right now.”
Papi nodded. “And I’ll talk to his dad. He could use a friend now too.”
-Bonnie Carr
How about you?
Do you ever do things you know God doesn’t approve of? Christians aren’t perfect—we all sometimes do things that are wrong. But because we trust in Jesus, we’ve been saved from our sin. Even though we do wrong things, Jesus forgives us, and He helps us turn away from sin and obey Him. Remember that in your own struggles with sin, and when you see others struggling, show them the grace and love of Jesus.
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