God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Romans 5:8
Imagine you're a little Hebrew girl growing up around 1440 BC. You laugh and play and help Mom cook a lot. One of the things you love is the family lamb. Lulu the lamb wanders around the house bleating for Mom to feed her, curls up at your dad's feet at night while he tells everyone about his day, and sleeps beside you at night. She's the sweetest lamb. Your dad reminds you that you won't have Lulu forever, and you know that because you remember the other lambs. One day Lulu will have to go to the Temple and be given to God as a sacrifice offering. It will be a really sad day because Lulu has become like a pet.
Why on earth would your dad let you grow so close to this little lamb if it was going to die? Well, one requirement for a lamb that God would find acceptable is it had to be spotless, without any blemishes - a pure, spotless lamb. (See Leviticus 4:32-35) In order for that to be possible, Hebrew families often brought a lamb out of the flock to protect it and keep it blemish-free. Can you imagine how sad it would be to live affectionately with a pet that would soon be scarified? But Hebrew girls knew that forgiveness depend on a pure lamb.
The need to sacrifice animals to the Lord changed when Jesus Christ showed up. You may run into people who ask "Why did Jesus have to die? How does his death take away my sin?" In John 1:29, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" When God sent his Son to die for us, Jesus became the final sacrifice for all sins. He became the pure, spotless, Lamb who was killed because of our sin.
If you think it was hard for that little Hebrew girl to say good-bye to Lulu the lamb, just imagine how hard it was for God to sacrifice his one and only Son.
Action point: Parents, it's a good time to focus on the fact that Jesus came back to life and still lives! Kids, how would you feel if you had to sacrifice a lamb like the little Hebrew girl did? How does it make you feel to know that Jesus died for you? How does it make you feel that he's alive? Tell Jesus "Thank you" for giving himself as a sacrifice for you.
If you’ve enjoyed this devo, consider having a family date! This date will teach you and your family the significance of Passover!
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