[Jesus said] “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Devotion based on John 5:28,29

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“You done good!” The grammar is not good, but when someone says, “You done good,” doesn’t that make you feel good? Your music or math teacher, your football coach, or your mom or dad. When they say, “You done good,” that makes life good, doesn’t it—at least for a little while?

Imagine if God said that to you. I think it would far surpass anyone else, wouldn’t it? Could you ever hope for him to say words like Jesus said in our Bible reading today, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have ‘done good’ will rise to live.” When Jesus calls you out of the grave, will you hear his voice tell you that you have “done good?” God says you will!

He says you will hear those words, not because of anything special you’ve done, but “because you listen to his Son.” If you and I want to hear Jesus say that we have “done good” at that time, we need to listen to the good things that Jesus has to say now. So, listen again, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

This week, we especially think of the day when we finally will be away from all our sins and failures that follow us now, all the things we haven’t “done good.” What God wants us to remember is that by listening to the voice of his Son, Jesus, we also are saints. We have crossed over from death to life and have eternal life.

So, out of love for Jesus, let’s do as much good as we can until it’s time to go to those graves that we will someday hear his voice call us out of. That day, for Jesus’ sake, we will hear these words spoken with perfect grammar, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to die and rise so that I can have certainty that when I die, I will be in heaven. Please give me the simple words of truth and comfort to speak to others when they lose someone they love. Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

Questions for Elementary Age Children

Questions for Middle School and Above