Read: Isaiah 53:3-7; Matthew 9:10-13 Ciara cringed as someone started coughing their way down the hall. A moment later, the coughing stopped, but then her younger brother, sitting next to her at the kitchen table as they did their school, began coughing. Ciara scooted away. At least she had gotten over her cold before the others, but still… Mom returned from blowing her nose. “All right, Max, have you gotten those math problems done?” Max shook his head and sniffed loudly. Ciara groaned. “Mom, aren’t we ever going to get over this?” “We’ll get over it.” Mom sighed. “Eventually.” “I think colds are the worst sickness ever!” Lynn declared, banging her books down on the table. “Actually, they probably aren’t. Things like Covid or polio or malaria are worse,” Brennan pointed out. “Oh, and cancer, and…” “You don’t need to list them all,” Mom said. “And I can think of a sickness that’s worse than any you’re likely to list—and we’re all infected with it and affected by it.” “What’s that?” Ciara looked up in alarm. “Sin,” Mom replied. “And it’s the worst kind of sickness, because it separates us from God. It’s anything we think, do, or say that goes against who He is and how He tells us to treat others. That means if we think of ourselves more highly than someone else, we’re sinning. If we ignore our parents when they tell us to do something, we’re sinning. If we speak unkindly to our siblings, we’re sinning. But there is a Physician who has the only cure—and He will give it to us completely free of charge.” Max sneezed. “It’s Jesus, isn’t it?” “It is. And do you know how He cures our sickness?” “He died for us on the cross to take away all our sins.” Ciara smiled. “And because I’ve trusted in Him as my Savior, He’s cleaned my heart of all its sin!” “Exactly.” Mom nodded. “And though we’re still affected by sin in this world and do wrong things, we can go to Him over and over again and confess our sin, knowing He will forgive us because He has washed the guilt of our sin away.” –Ellie Shirk How about you? Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? Sin is a spiritual sickness that infects every human heart, and only God has the cure. Jesus’s sacrifice paid the price to save us, but we must receive the free gift He offers in order to be healed. When you trust in Jesus, He cleans your heart of sin and gives you a healthy heart for Him. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?) Today's Key Verse: When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Matthew 9:12 (NKJV) Today's Key Thought: Jesus can take away your sins