School Bus Stop

Read: Isaiah 1:16-20

The school bus was expected any minute, so Ethan shoveled his cereal into his mouth. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his baby sister, Addy, pick up his tablet. He dropped his spoon, darted across the kitchen, and snatched it from her hands.

“Don’t touch that!” he yelled. “I told you not to touch my stuff. You break everything!”

Addy burst into tears, and Mom came hurrying into the room and picked her up. “What happened?” she asked.

“Addy was messing with my stuff again,” Ethan said. “She’s so annoying!”

Mom sighed. “I’m sorry, Ethan, I wasn’t paying attention to what she was doing. But you also need to be more careful about not putting your things where she can reach them. And you know yelling at her like that scares her and is not the way we solve problems.”

Ethan bit his lip, feeling guilty. “I didn’t mean to make her cry. I’m sorry, Addy.” He gave Addy a hug, and she calmed down.

Ethan frowned as he put his cereal bowl in the sink. “I shouldn’t have yelled at her. Is God disappointed in me?”

Mom ruffled his hair. “God knows we all mess up. That’s why He sent Jesus to die for us—so we could be forgiven for the wrong things we do. You can tell Him you’re sorry.”

“But how do we know that God’s forgiven us?” Ethan asked.

Mom smiled. “Do you think your school bus is coming? Even though you can’t see it yet?” She pointed out the window.

“Of course,” Ethan said.

“Why?”

“Because it comes every school day,” Ethan replied.

“God is like that,” Mom said. “He never changes. You can always count on Him to forgive you because Jesus died for you—and He’ll help you be more patient with Addy too.”

Ethan smiled. “I’m going to ask God to help me be nicer to her and set a better example.”

The school bus pulled up, and Ethan looked at the clock. Eight-fifteen a.m. Just like every morning. He grabbed his backpack and ran out the door. It was nice to have things he could count on.

–Abigail Singrey

How about you? What are some things in your life that you can count on? Maybe you eat the same thing for breakfast every day, or your parents say the same thing to you every night before you go to bed. Like the sun rising every morning, we can count on God to forgive us when we make mistakes. Jesus died for our sins so our wrongs wouldn’t be counted against us. Confess your sins to Him and trust Him to forgive you.

Today's Key Verse: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: We can count on God’s forgiveness