Daily Devotional for September 26, 2020
Whipping Boy
Emmett picked up a book his mom had gotten at the library. “The Whipping Boy,” he read aloud. He looked at his mother. “What’s a whipping boy? I’ve never heard of that.”
“I didn’t know either,” Mom told him, “but look.” She showed him the back cover. “It says here it’s a story about an orphan who is chosen to be the whipping boy for a young prince. Since physical punishment was common in those days, yet no one dared touch a prince, whenever the prince did something wrong, the whipping boy would be punished instead.”
Emmett frowned. “You mean that boy was punished for the wrong things someone else did? I bet that made him mad!”
“I’m sure it did,” said Mom. “But this book is fiction—it’s just a story—although similar things probably really happened years ago.”
“It’s so unfair!” said Emmett. “Didn’t the boy try to run away?”
“We’ll have to read the story and see what happens,” said Mom. She set the book on Emmett’s desk next to his Bible. “You know,” she said, “I know someone who had so much love for others that, in a way, He volunteered to become a whipping boy.”
Emmett stared at his mother. “Are you serious? You said it was something people did long ago—if it even happened at all. You really know someone who did that?”
“I was thinking of Jesus,” answered Mom. “The Bible doesn’t use the words ‘whipping boy,’ but think of what Jesus did for us. He went to the cross and took the punishment for our sin.”
Emmett nodded. “Jesus wasn’t just whipped for our sins,” he said. “He died for us because He loves us.”
“Yes,” said Mom, “and because of that, we can be forgiven and have eternal life with Him. We need to thank Him for loving us so much, and we should show our appreciation by obeying His commands and living out His love—love that is willing to make sacrifices for the good of others.”
“Yeah,” said Emmett. “Unlike a whipping boy, Jesus didn’t have to take our punishment. But I’m sure glad He did!” • Margaret M. Primrose
How about you?
Did you know that Jesus suffered and died in your place? Have you trusted Him to forgive you for the wrong things you’ve done? Jesus took the punishment you deserved so you could have eternal life with Him. If you have not accepted His gift of salvation, there is no better time to do so than right now. Trust in Him today. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)
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