Suffer the Consequences

Read: 1 Peter 2:21-25

Ian picked up a crumpled piece of paper from the ground and opened it up. It was a flyer advertising a sale at one of the local stores. He crumpled it back up and threw it on the ground.

“Why did you do that?” Mom called to Ian from the porch.

“It’s nothing important,” Ian said. “Besides, that’s how I found it. Someone else left it there like that.” He kicked the paper to the side of the sidewalk.

“Ian, pick it up and throw it away, please. I know you’re not the one who put it there in the first place, but we all need to do our share in keeping our neighborhood looking nice, even if that means picking up trash that belongs to someone else.”

Ian sighed and picked up the paper. “This is the second time this week I got stuck with the consequences for something someone else did,” he said, thinking of the day before when his younger twin brothers were acting up at the park and Mom had taken them all home early. He threw the crumpled paper in the trash and sat down on the porch next to his mother.

“I know it seems like you’ve been suffering the consequences for other people’s behavior lately,” said Mom, “but remember there have been times when others have picked up your trash. In fact, I often pick up your candy wrappers around the house. And I seem to recall that the last time I had to take everyone home early from a fun outing was because of something you did. There is only one person who was completely innocent and suffered the consequences for those who were at fault. Do you know who that was?”

Ian thought it over. “Was it Jesus?”

Mom nodded. “Jesus never sinned, but He died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins. He suffered the consequences we deserved so we could have eternal life with Him.”

Ian kicked at a leaf that had blown onto the porch. “I’m really glad He did that,” he said. “When I have to deal with the consequences of what other people do, I’ll remember what Jesus did for me.”

–Melissa Yeagle

How about you? Have you suffered consequences for something someone else did? Even though you may not have done anything wrong then, you’ve done plenty of other wrong things. We’re all sinners who deserve to suffer the consequences of our sin, which is eternal death, or being separated from God forever. But Jesus died so we wouldn’t have to. He suffered the consequences you deserve so you could have eternal life with Him. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today’s key verse: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

Today’s key thought: Jesus suffered the consequences of our sin