THE BETTER WE KNOW GOD, THE EASIER IT IS TO KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read 2 Corinthians 3:17-18.
Verse of the Day: âAs the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even moreâ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Sandy and Barb compared the pictures they had bought at the amusement park.
âI donât think mine looks like me at all,â Barb said. She and Sandy had paid twenty dollars apiece for the chalk portraits, and Barb was disappointed with the result.
âIt looks sort of like you,â Sandy offered.
âWell, yeah,â Barb said, rolling her eyes, âitâs got dark hair, brown eyes, and a big nose, just like I do. But it doesnât look like me.â
âYouâre right,â Sandy finally admitted. âBut I canât figure out why not.â
âMaybe the eyes are too far apart,â Barb suggested. âOr too close together.â
âAnyway,â Barb said, studying the picture, âitâs just not right.â âYeah,â Sandy agreed. âItâs just not right.â
Suddenly, the two girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. They had both remembered the talk their youth pastor had given to the youth group two nights earlier. âWhen youâre faced with a tough choice,â he had said, âtake a good look at what youâre thinking about doing and evaluate your choice by comparing it to God. If itâs like God, then itâs right. If itâs not like God, itâs just not right.â
The youth pastor had said that last phrase-âIf itâs not like God, itâs just not rightâ-so many times during his talk that the youth group had started saying it with him.
âWait a minute,â Sandy said, placing a hand on Barbâs arm. âThis is sort of what Pastor Jim was talking about.â She pointed at Barbâs portrait. âTo someone who doesnât know you, that might look like a pretty good drawing.â
âYeah,â Barb said.
âBut I know you, so I know this doesnât really look like you.â
âRight,â Barb said. âAnd like Pastor Jim was saying, the better we know God and the closer we get to him, the easier it is to really know whatâs right or wrong.â
Sandy nodded. âJust like I know thatâs just not right,â she said, pointing to Barbâs portrait.
The two friends laughed. âLetâs go get a piece of pizza,â Barb said.
TO DISCUSS: According to Pastor Jimâs talk in the story above, how can we know if something weâre thinking about doing is right or wrong? How can you get better at making right choices?
TO PRAY: âLord, teach us to reflect your image more and more through our actions and our words.â