January 1, 2026 Devo

“To open yourself up to the greatest love is to open yourself to the greatest pain.” Ever heard that before? It’s true. Anyone who has ever raised kids can attest to it. When we were living in Phoenix, our oldest son did something stupid and got arrested a week before high school graduation. I was in the middle of a speaking engagement in Oregon at the time. When my wife called me, she was sobbing. She told me what had happened and that our son was in jail. I immediately told the leaders of the event that I was so sorry, but I couldn’t stay and be their speaker. I had to go home and be a father. I cried all the way to the airport.
When I got on the plane, I felt like a total loser…as a father, as a husband, and as a pastor. My wife and I had worked so hard to love our boys well and teach them how to live. But our oldest son had become increasingly challenging during high school. This arrest felt like the exclamation point on our incompetence as parents. But as the plane lifted through the clouds, I felt the presence of God surround me. He whispered words to me that I will never forget. He said, “Steve, there’s only ever been One Perfect Father. And look at what happened to my kids!” In that moment, I came to know what God had known since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Eventually, all children will choose their own way. And sometimes that way is the opposite of what we had dreamed for them.
When I read our verse for today, I thought of that experience with my son and remembered again how God identifies with us. We broke God’s heart, just as our hearts get broken when people we love rebel against us or turn away from us. It could be our children or grandchildren. It could be someone we’ve sponsored in recovery who relapsed and then ghosted us. It could be someone we led to the Lord or discipled who backslid or just drifted away from God. It could be someone whom we’ve mentored or poured ourselves into who is now making horrible decisions. When you invest in someone, you run the risk of them walking away with a piece of your heart. And God gets that.
If that’s you today, I’m so sorry. I’m praying that everyone who reads this who is on that path will find peace and healing. But there are two things I’d like to say to you. First, God understands. As you pray, remember you’re praying to God who went through it first and walks empathetically with you in it now. Second, it’s not personal. I made the same initial mistake with my son that many of us make. I made his mistake about me. But it wasn’t. It was about him. Don’t make the same mistake of making it about you. Pray for them diligently, love them intensely, but stop short of taking responsibility for the choices they make. God was PERFECT. Yet those He created and poured Himself into chose to walk away. If it can happen to Him, it can and will happen to us. That’s God’s Word for you today.