THINK TOGETHER.
What are some of the consequences for wrong doing in your home?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 18:4. It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice.
When Jesus died on the cross is showed us two things about God. First, God is loving, and forgiving, and gracious. The cross paid for all our sins free of charge. What mercy! Second, the cross showed us that God is just and fair; he won’t let sin go unpunished. Jesus HAD to die for sins. Why? Because every sin has to be paid for before they could be forgiven.
We also know from the Bible that everyone who does not receive the forgiveness of God through faith in Jesus will still be punished for their sins. Why? Because God will never deprive the righteous of justice. God punishes sins because those sins hurt others. They hurt the righteous, people who are innocent.
Wisdom in this life means understanding that God uses authorities (parents, teachers, churches, governments) to punish the wicked and give justice to the righteous. Sometimes this can be very difficult because we want to show grace and mercy to the wicked like Jesus did on the cross. But we must never forget that it is not good to be partial to the wicked when it also takes away justice for the righteous. That is why your parents or teachers may need to punish you or help you to make amends when someone else has been hurt by what you did. It is not fair to the righteous person who got hurt if the wrong doer is shown mercy without having to change anything or make things right.
Can you think of a time when you hurt someone or broke their things? Did you apologize? Did you fix or pay for what you broke? Did you have to make up for your bad behavior with good behavior? If so, then you experienced justice. That’s a good thing. It’s a picture of Jesus and the cross.
Because of Jesus there is both mercy and justice.
With Jesus we can make amends when we do wrong, knowing he loves us.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Make Romans 5:1 a family memory verse.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, help me to accept the consequences of my actions and trust your forgiveness for me as I make things right. Amen.
TLICfamily 