Imagine building a super cool LEGO tower, and right when you finish the final floor, your little brother accidentally bumps into it and crashes it to the ground. Your face gets hot, your tummy tightens up, and you feel like screaming or breaking something of theirs to make things equal. When someone hurts us, our natural instinct is to get payback and make them feel just as bad as we do.

That angry feeling inside is called holding a grudge, but Jesus has a way better plan for us: forgiveness! Forgiveness doesn’t mean what they did was okay, but it means choosing to let them off the hook instead of getting revenge. God calls us to be forgiveness experts because that is exactly how He treats us every single day.

Colossians 3:13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

When you forgive someone, you are handing them a total free gift. Instead of keeping score of their mistakes, you wipe the scoreboard completely clean! That means no secret payback, no silent treatment, and no bringing up their past mistakes the next time you get into an argument. It isn’t always easy, but it stops anger from taking over your heart.

Here’s a life hack to win at forgiving others: whenever someone hurts you, imagine holding an invisible heavy backpack filled with rocks. Every time you choose to forgive instead of getting even, you drop a rock out of that pack! When we ask Jesus to help us drop the heavy stuff, our hearts stay light and happy. Choose to forgive quickly so you can shine Jesus’ amazing love to everyone around you!

Talk About It

  1. If you had to invent a silly superpower that wipes away messy mistakes, what would it look like?
  2. What verse did we read about forgiving others because the Lord forgave us, and where is it found in the Bible?
  3. Parents, when you were kids, who was someone that was hard for you to forgive, and how did you handle it?
  4. Why is it so hard to choose forgiveness when a classmate or sibling hurts us on purpose, and how can Jesus help us in that moment?
  5. What is one practical way our family can practice letting go of small arguments and choosing forgiveness this week?