Duck Duck Goose

~Connect~ A little boy visiting his grandparents has been given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma's back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead.

The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch that day, Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn't you, Johnny?" And she whispered to him, "Remember the duck! So Johnny did the dishes.

Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, "I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally smiled and said, "That's all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it." Again she whispered, "Remember the duck." Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, finally he couldn't stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed the duck. "I know, Johnny," she said, giving him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.

~Reflect~ Read: Matthew 18
Key Verse: Matthew 18:21-22

Here Jesus is asked a question by Peter. He asks him “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” and Jesus responds that we should not forgive just seven times but seventy-seven times. What Jesus is saying is we must be willing to forgive beyond the norm. We should always be forgiving just as He forgives us over and over again. We should show mercy and compassion towards others just as God shows mercy and compassion towards us. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” We are no better than the next person, we are all sinners and we are all guilty of wrong doings toward others and just as we seek to be forgiven we should also seek to forgive.


~Direct~ In the story Johnny had killed the duck and not only that but he tried to hide his wrong doing by hiding the duck and then not telling his grandmother what had happened and when being black mailed by his sister became overwhelming for him he decided to rectify his action and ask for forgiveness. What Johnny didn’t know was that he had already been forgiven. His grandmother had seen it all happen and decided to forgive him even though he then had it from her. All because of the love she had for her grandson. It’s the same when it comes to God and us. God sees all that we do. He is with us all-day and everyday, all night and every night and knows our thoughts. There is nothing that we can hide from him and so when we sin he sees it when we have wrongful thoughts he knows it and even so he forgives us. Every wrong thought or deed no matter how big or how small all is forgiven all because he loves us so much John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” He expects us to be forgiving towards those that surround us and those we come in contact with as He is forgiving towards us. Don’t be a slave to un-forgiveness, don’t let it run your life, don’t let it submit you to it’s beck and call but overcome it with the power that there is in forgiveness.