Forgive Us Our Diets

Read: Matthew 6:9-15

“Kayla, could you please pass the corn?” Nate asked.

As Kayla picked up the bowl of corn with one hand, she accidentally spilled it all over the table.

“Aw, man,” said Nate. “I was really looking forward to some corn!”

“I’m sorry, Nate!” Kayla said. “I didn’t mean to spill it—it was an accident!”

“I know, Kayla,” Nate replied as he helped her clean up the spilled corn. “I’ve spilled food before too. Next time use both hands. Can you pass the mashed potatoes instead?”

This time Kayla grabbed the bowl of mashed potatoes with both of her hands and passed it to her brother without spilling it.

“Thank you,” Nate said as he put a spoonful of potatoes on his plate.

“So, Nate, Mom tells me you’re working on memorizing the Lord’s Prayer for Sunday school,” Dad said.

“How’s that going?”

“Well, memorizing it is the easy part. My Sunday school teacher wants me to be able to tell her what it means, and that’s where I’m struggling,” Nate said as he took a bite of his potatoes.

“Well, maybe I can help,” said Dad. “Which part do you not understand?”

“The part that goes something like, ‘Forgive us our diets as we forgive our dieters.’”

Dad chuckled. “I think you mean debts and debtors, not diets and dieters. Our debts are our sins, and our debtors are those who sin against us. God wants us to forgive others just like He forgives us.”

“You mean like how Nate forgave me for spilling the corn?” asked Kayla.

“Well, spilling the corn wasn’t a sin, Kayla, so it’s not quite the same thing. But it was a mistake, and instead of getting upset about it, Nate remembered that he’s made mistakes like that before too. So yes, in a way, that’s what we need to do when others sin against us by doing something that’s wrong. We forgive them because we’ve been forgiven by Jesus, who died for our sins on the cross.”

“That makes a lot more sense now,” Nate said as he pushed his plate aside. “I wondered why God wanted us to forgive dieters!” The entire table began to laugh.

–Melissa Yeagle

How about you? Has anyone ever told you they were sorry for something they did to you that was wrong? Did you forgive them? We all sin and need to ask Jesus to forgive us, and He always does—and He wants us to do the same for others. The next time someone asks you for forgiveness, remember that Jesus has forgiven you for your sins and trust Him to help you forgive others.

Today's Key Verse: Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Forgive others