Daily Devotional for December 9, 2021
Loved Like a Kitten (Part 1)
SQUEEEEAK! SQUEEEEAK! Malachi looked in awe at the small cat carrier filled with three tiny kittens. “Mom, their meows sound like squeaks!”
Mom nodded as she reached into the carrier. “I know. They’re so young. I’m glad we were able to take them on.”
Malachi’s mom worked as a professional kitten rescuer, fostering orphaned kittens needing care. Mom held up one of the kittens. His eyes were shut, and he let out a high-pitched squeak.
“They’re so tiny!” Malachi exclaimed. “Can I hold one?”
“Not yet,” said Mom. “It looks like all of the kittens have fleas. We’ll need to treat that first.”
“Eww!” said Malachi. “Fleas are gross.”
Mom brought the kittens over to a sink. “Yes! Fleas hurt the kittens and are hard to get rid of. Can you pass me that flea comb on the table?”
Malachi obliged and crinkled his nose. “I’m sorry you’ve got fleas, little kittens!”
Mom carefully combed the kittens. Then she gave them a bath with special soap to get rid of any remaining fleas.
Even after the fleas were gone, the kittens needed a lot of care—including special feedings and medicine from the vet. But, as time went on, the kittens began to grow, becoming healthier, stronger, and cuter by the day.
Several weeks later, Malachi and Mom were playing with the kittens, who were happily exploring, climbing, and cuddling. “Isn’t it amazing how healthy the kittens are now?” said Mom.
“Yeah,” said Malachi. “They sure were in bad shape! They would have died if we hadn’t rescued them.”
Mom nodded. “That reminds me of us. These kittens were covered in painful fleas and were going to die if they didn’t get help. Without Jesus, we were helpless too. We were sick with sin and doomed to die because of it. But Jesus stepped in and rescued us by dying for our sins on the cross and rising again.”
“Wow,” said Malachi. “Jesus must love us a lot.”
Mom hugged Malachi. “He does. Even when our sin sickness was grosser than fleas, Jesus wasn’t afraid to come to this earth and live with us so that we could be rescued.” -Kandi Zeller
How about you?
Have you been rescued? Did you know that Jesus is the only one who can rescue us from sin and death? Jesus loves us so much He was willing to do the difficult work of saving us. If you haven’t already, trust Him today to be rescued! (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column.) If you’ve already put your trust in Him, rest in His great love and care for you.
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