Daily Devotional for May 16, 2023
Outgrown
When Nolan’s mom told him it was time for family devotions, he looked up from his video game. “Aw, Mom, can’t we skip it tonight? I’m almost to the next level of this game. Besides, I know all that stuff. I hear it all the time at church, and I even go to a Christian school!”
“Nolan,” Dad called from the next room. “Turn off the game and come now, please.”
Nolan sighed and followed his mom into the living room.
The next morning when Mom told Nolan to hurry and get ready for church, he frowned. “We probably won’t hear anything we haven’t heard before,” he grumbled as he shuffled toward his room. A few minutes later, he was back again. “I need new pants!” he exclaimed, motioning at the pants he was wearing. “Look at these. They’re getting really short.”
Mom nodded. “I see that. You’re growing right out of them. We’ll look for a new pair this week.”
“Good idea.” Dad grinned. “I guess those pants must have shrunk,” he joked. “Or could it be that you’re growing taller?” He looked at his son thoughtfully. “But, Nolan, I get the feeling that you think God is like that old pair of pants.”
“What do you mean?” asked Nolan, looking at his dad in surprise.
“Well, you’ve implied that you know all there is to know about God,” Dad explained. “You seem to think you’ve outgrown Him. But the truth is you’ll need a whole lifetime to learn about God—what He’s like and what He does and what He teaches in His Word. Even then, you’ll only know just a little. God is so great and so wonderful, we’ll never know all there is to know about Him.”
“That’s right,” said Mom. “But He wants us to get to know Him better. Jesus became one of us and died for our sins so we could have a relationship with Him. As we learn more about His promises and what He’s done for us, He helps us understand more about Him so our relationship with Him can grow.”
Nolan looked down at the pants he was wearing. “Okay. I’ll pay attention in church to see what I can learn. But first I need to put on some different pants!”
-Carolyn E. Yost
How about you?
Do you feel like you know enough about God? Do you think the Bible stories you’ve heard before have nothing left to teach you? You can never outgrow God. He is the great and everlasting God—the mighty Creator of the entire universe. There will always be more things to learn about Him. You can’t ever know everything, but you can know Jesus as your Savior today. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.) Then let Him teach you more and more throughout your life.
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