Boom! The door slammed with wall-rattling force. It wasn't the wind. It wasn't an accident. Something had happened.
I arrived on the scene to find my daughter in tears, a game board in shambles, and the bedroom door off the hallway closed tight.
After tending to my daughter and straightening up a bit, I opened the door to my son’s bedroom. I scanned the warm, sunlit room. Empty. I looked back at my daughter who was now happily playing with dolls, then turned to scan the room again, and there it was—a small toe peeking out from behind a wall of pillows on my son’s bed. He was embarrassed and ashamed, hiding behind pillows that I had to peel back like layers. I knew he had made a mistake. He knew he made a mistake.
I put my hand on his head. His eyes closed tight, “Your sister told me what happened. I know you feel bad about hurting her feelings. That’s not like you to slam doors. I’m surprised, but I want you to know something, I love you, and nothing will ever change that.”
The Bible tells us our hearts are like doors. They can be closed tight towards God and others. Even when we make poor choices, God says, “Come to Me. I love you.” His love changes us. It makes us more like Him—more loving, more caring, more patient. No matter what you have done, always remember that God is crazy in love with you. Nothing will change that. When we each open the door of our hearts and cry out, “I don't want to go anywhere without You. I love You, and I know You love me,” we begin to resemble the person He created us to be. It is the real you and the real me.
This devotional was written by:
Johnny Rogers
For over twenty years, Johnny’s passion for connecting kids with God’s Word has fine-tuned his unique, humorous, and energetic teaching style in a wide range of children’s ministries and media experiences. Johnny is the children’s pastor at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; and he lives in neighboring Spring Hill with his wife and four kids.