Tangled Yarn

Bible Reading: Romans 5:21; 6:20-23; 12:1-2

“Oh no!” Jacelyn exclaimed as she and her parents walked into the house. Pink yarn wound around table and chair legs and over and under the chair rungs. The yarn went from the kitchen to the dining room, where it went over and around more chair legs.

It didn’t take long to figure out the culprit—Patches, Jacelyn’s kitten. “But how could one little kitten make such a mess?” Jacelyn asked. “And look at my yarn! I just bought it!”

“I’m sorry, Jacelyn,” said Mom, “but it looks like you’ll lose most of it. We might as well get the scissors and start cutting.”

“Wait,” said Dad. “That’s a lot of yarn to waste. Let me try to untangle it.” With that, he went to work. Jacelyn and Mom helped too. It was difficult, but the yarn finally was rolled into a ball.

“Well,” said Jacelyn, gazing doubtfully at the yarn, “I’m glad we could save this, but it sure doesn’t look like it did when it was new. And see that?” She pointed to a frayed section of yarn. “A lot of the threads are all pulled apart.”

Mom nodded. “I guess the kitten’s claws did that.”

Jacelyn sighed. “It won’t ever be quite the same again, but I’ll still use it.”

“Tangled yarn,” said Dad. “It’s kind of like what Pastor Park talked about at church, isn’t it? He talked about the tangled consequences of sin.”

Mom nodded. “All sin leaves us broken, which is why we need Jesus to save us from sin and make us new. But even if we know Him, there will sometimes still be painful consequences we have to deal with because of sinful choices we’ve made.”

“Like when people misuse drugs or other dangerous things?” Jacelyn asked.

“Yes,” said Dad, “No matter what we do, Jesus still loves us and will forgive us, even when we do things that harm our bodies or sin in such a way that there are other long-lasting consequences.”

“Jesus died and rose again to free us from the consequences of our sin, including the worst one of all—death,” Mom said. “Even when we have to face consequences for sinful choices, we can trust Him to forgive us and make us new people.” – Vera M. Hutchcroft

How About You?

Do you know how serious sin is? Sinning is doing anything that goes against God, our good Creator. When we sin, we hurt ourselves and others. The good news is that Jesus died and rose again to save us from sin’s power and its biggest consequence, death. Confess your sins to Him. He will forgive you and help you face any consequences for your actions.

Today’s Key Verse:
Romans 6:23 When people sin, they earn what sin pays—death. But God gives his people a free gift—eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ERV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Sin has consequences