Read: 2 Corinthians 8:8-12

Emma tiptoed into her house. The wind howled at her back, and she pulled her scarf tight against her neck. If only she had her coat. Slowly, she closed the door until it clicked shut. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to see her like this.

She sighed. It was nice to finally be in her warm living room.

“Emma?”

Uh-oh. She cringed as she turned to her mother and forced a smile.

“Where’s your coat?”

“I…um…lost it?”

“Lost it? What are you talking about? It isn’t even fifty degrees outside!” Mom grabbed Emma’s hands. “Your hands are freezing.” She took a step back and placed her hands on her hips. “How in the world could you possibly lose that big winter coat?”

Emma looked down and kicked at the edge of the carpet. “I gave it away.”

“You did what?”

“There’s a girl at school named Katy. All she had was a jacket. She said she didn’t own a winter coat. I remembered that I had two others at home, so I gave her the one I was wearing.”

Smiling, Mom led her to the couch. “You did a good thing today.”

“So you’re not mad at me?” Emma asked as she took a seat beside her mother.

“No. What you did for your friend was a lot like what Jesus did for us.”

“What do you mean?” asked Emma.

“Well, Jesus was rich and comfortable in heaven, but He saw that we were stuck in sin. So He left all His riches and comfort behind in order to save us.”

Emma pulled the scarf off her neck. “By coming to earth and dying on the cross.”

“Exactly,” said Mom. “He gave up everything so we could experience the riches and joy of having eternal life with Him.” She wrapped a blanket around Emma’s shoulders. “It must’ve been freezing cold walking home without a coat.”

“Yeah, but it was only a ten-minute walk.”

Mom grinned. “You were a picture of Jesus to Katy today. You became poor for a little while so that she could become rich.”

–Annika Klanderud

How about you? Have you ever done something good for somebody that left you feeling uncomfortable? Maybe you donated the last of your money or gave away food you really enjoy. By doing that, you made a sacrifice for someone else. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice when He died to save us from sin. When you make sacrifices for others, you’re pointing to the ultimate sacrifice He made for us.

Today's Key Verse: Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: We’re rich because Jesus became poor