This excerpt is taken from Jessica Thompson’s new daily devotional for children, Exploring Grace Together: 40 Devotions for the Family (Crossway).
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Annie is having a really hard time being nice to Priscilla. Priscilla is always mean; everything she says is unkind. She’s like a thorn that gets stuck in your sock. Even though she just makes little comments, they sting and irritate Annie. Annie knows she should be nice; she knows the right thing to do, but she just doesn’t want to do it. She wants to be mean back; she wants to show Priscilla what it feels like to be hurt by what someone says. Annie wishes they didn’t have to be around each other, but they go to the same church and the same school. Annie knows she’s never been that mean to anybody, and she can’t understand why Priscilla is that way. It’s like Priscilla wants to be everybody’s enemy. Annie tries to do what her parents say; she tries to pray for Priscilla, but she just doesn’t like her one bit.
A verse like Romans 5:8 is the only thing that will help Annie’s heart feel soft when she thinks about Priscilla. This verse tells us what we were like when God chose to love us. It tells us about ourselves when Christ chose to die for us. Here is how it describes you and me: “While we were still sinners. . . .” It doesn’t say “When we had decided to be nice” or “When we had decided we should love God.” It says, “While we were still sinners.” While we were disobeying God, while we were his enemies, he decided to show us love. He decided to give us his treasure, his Son. Can you imagine giving your most important treasure to someone who hates you or to someone who’s mean and always does the opposite of what you say? This is what God did for us.
You might be asking yourself, What does this have to do with Annie and Priscilla? Let me explain: Annie will only be able to love Priscilla if she remembers how much God loves her even when she doesn’t deserve it and when she isn’t nice. Annie must remember that God still loves her even though she doesn’t always obey or do the right thing. God gave her his best treasure, and he will continue to give her everything she needs even when she is ungrateful and complains and wants more. If Annie can remember this truth, she’ll be able to love Priscilla without expecting Priscilla to be nice back. If she can remember God’s love, then she’ll able to show that same love to Priscilla.
Free eBook by Tim Keller: ‘The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness’
Imagine a life where you don’t feel inadequate, easily offended, desperate to prove yourself, or endlessly preoccupied with how you look to others. Imagine relishing, not resenting, the success of others. Living this way isn’t far-fetched. It’s actually guaranteed to believers, as they learn to receive God’s approval, rather than striving to earn it.
In Tim Keller’s short ebook, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: The Path To True Christian Joy, he explains how to overcome the toxic tendencies of our age一not by diluting biblical truth or denying our differences一but by rooting our identity in Christ.
TGC is offering this Keller resource for free, so you can discover the “blessed rest” that only self-forgetfulness brings.
