Sunrise Chat

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:22-24

Long road trips can be a blast, and this one was no exception. Emily, Cooper, and their mom were taking a trip from their home in California all the way up to Washington to visit their grandparents. The first quiet night of driving had passed, and Cooper and Emily woke up to a showstopping sunrise.

“Whoa!” Cooper exclaimed, taking in the beauty of the sky. “The clouds look exactly like someone painted them on a piece of paper.”

“Look, Mom.” Emily pointed out the window. “The sun is still rising, but only some of the clouds have changed colors.” Pink-and-orange-tinted clouds floated just below gray ones.

“You’re right!” Mom said. “Where the light of the sun hasn’t hit the clouds, they still look the same.” She passed each of the kids an apple, adding, “We’ll be stopping for breakfast soon.”

“Thanks!” Emily bit into her apple and looked out the window, pondering. “Hmm. Don’t you think we’re kind of like the clouds? Jesus shines His light into our hearts and changes them, and He helps us become more like Him.” She giggled. “I think I’m a pink cloud!”

“But sometimes we make ourselves look more like those gray clouds,” Cooper said. “We don’t always do things that reflect Jesus’s light so people can see how He’s changed us.”

Emily nodded, remembering how she and Cooper had argued the day before about who was going to sit in the front seat. The mean words she’d said to him danced around in her head.

“That’s something everyone has a hard time with, even parents,” Mom said, smiling. “Even though Jesus has changed us, we still sin and do things that are wrong sometimes. But when we admit our wrongs to Jesus, He forgives us and helps us act with love instead of selfishness.”

The kids were silent for a minute, then Cooper spoke up. “Sorry about fighting yesterday, Em,” he said sheepishly.

“That’s okay,” she responded quickly. “Me too.” She ate the last bite of her apple, then pointed out the window with a grin. “Pretty sure you’re that orange cloud over there!”

-Sydney Apperson

How About You?

Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? If so, He has changed your heart and made you a new person! But sometimes our words and actions are reflections of what we want instead of what Jesus has done for us. When you do something that fails to show others the light and love of Jesus, confess it to Him, and tell anyone you’ve wronged you’re sorry too. Then trust Jesus to help you live in a way that allows people to see how He’s changed you.

Today’s Key Verse:
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Reflect the light of Jesus