Forgiveness - 1st-5th Grade Virtue for July

Letting Go
Buckets are a fantastic invention. Simple genius, really. There's almost no end to what you can put in a bucket: big or little things, a lot or a few things, good or bad things. There's no doubt buckets are useful. But what goes IN the bucket is key. We put things in buckets that we need to carry around with us. Soapy water and tools are two things I think of right away.

Emotionally speaking, sometimes we put things that we don't want to let go of, burdensome things, as often as not, like pain, hurt, disappointment, and disillusionment. And we tend to accumulate those things, adding them to the bucket until we need a bigger bucket or multiple buckets. We may even dedicate our buckets, labeling them with people's names, especially if they keep on doing us wrong. Eventually we are trapped, weighed down emotionally by buckets we can't seem to let go of. We can't move on, enjoying relationships to their fullest and participating with both hands in enjoyable and worthwhile activities, till we let go of the bucket, till we forgive. Forgiveness is all about letting go of the bucket. It may have to be done on a gradual basis, even intentionally done every day. But when you let go of your bucket, you are then free to jump in with both hands and feet and live as God intended!

So this month, we are focusing on forgiveness, which is deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn't have to pay.

We started off with Jesus' parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18): since God forgives you, you should forgive others.
Week 2 was all about Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19) and the fact that when people are forgiven, it can change them.
In week 3 we'll be talking about getting even God's way and what Joseph did when faced with the opportunity for revenge (Genesis 45). When you want to get even, do the opposite.
And we'll end the month with "go first," what Jesus said about forgiveness in Matthew 5: don't wait to start making things right with others.

Forgiveness is important! Teach your children to love back, not pay back.  That's Jesus' way.