Butterfly Rescue

Read: John 3:16; Colossians 1:13-14

As Jana sat at the dining room table doing her homework, she looked out the window and saw a beautiful butterfly. It was flying from flower to flower, getting nectar. Jana loved how gracefully the butterfly floated through the air and then landed on a flower for some nectar.

“How’s your homework coming?” Mom called from the kitchen.

“It’s coming!” Jana replied. She looked away from the window long enough to get another math problem done. When she looked back up—“Oh no!” Jana ran out the door. “Try to be nice and still, butterfly. I’m going to try to get you out of this spiderweb.”

Mom dashed into the dining room when she heard the commotion. She smiled as she watched Jana gently rescue the butterfly and set it carefully on a flower in their garden.

“Now you’re safe. I saved you from that spider,” Jana said softly. She stood back and observed the butterfly as it began to flutter around again. She was thankful she’d been able to rescue it in time. “I rescued that butterfly from a spider’s web,” Jana said as she walked back inside.

“I saw that. I’m sure the butterfly is really happy to be out of that web.” Mom smiled. “It reminds me of how happy I am to have been rescued too.”

“You were rescued?” Jana looked at her mom in surprise. “How?”

Mom took a Bible from the shelf and flipped through its pages, then began reading. “‘For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.’” She looked at Jana. “Jesus rescues us from sin when we trust Him as our Savior. He paid the price for our sins on the cross and then rose again so we could be given a new life and spend eternity with Him.”

Jana looked out the window and watched the butterfly again for a long moment. “Mom, I think I’m ready to ask Jesus to be my Savior.”

Mom held Jana’s hands, and they prayed together. “Thanks for praying with me, Mom,” Jana said. “Now I’ve been rescued too!”

–Lisa Fuller

How about you? Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? The Bible says that our sin—our selfish desires and the wrong things we do—is like a web that we can’t break free of ourselves. We need to be rescued, and God loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us. When you trust in Him, He will rescue you and give you a new life of freedom with Him that will never end! (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Jesus rescues us from sin