June 04


Healing Words, Freeing Truth


The entirety of Your word is truth....

Psalm 119:160a (HCSB)


And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:31 (NKJV)


To me, Alex is the moodiest of our three boys. He is certainly the most sensitive. That was evident last night when he came home with his head drooping and his spirits trailing ten feet behind. It seems some friends had said some upsetting things. He sat down on the white sofa and stared at the carpet.

“He said he never wanted to be my friend again. And then his sister didn’t believe me when I said, ‘No, really, I don’t like cookies better than I like you!’”

“Alex, what did you do to make them say such things?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

I tried to get more out of him, but it didn’t come. He stood up and dragged himself to the kitchen to get a snack. I tried to comfort him, to encourage him and uncover the mystery of the unfriendly behavior, but it didn’t happen. Alex just moped until bedtime, but then things changed.

After donning his pjs and brushing his teeth, Alex climbed into his bed and picked up his Devotions for Boys book. The passage for that night was the classic text from Leviticus 19. It talked about not holding a grudge, about not taking vengeance and about loving your neighbor as yourself. Good, timely words with a great story thrown in, and then, this memory verse , “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13).

It was all he needed to hear. In an instant, his heart had changed, and he snuggled into bed with a smile. Alex was relaxed and happy. He knew the truth, and the truth had made him free!


LORD, thank You for life-giving truth!