The tradition of Devotio has been around at Goodpasture for quite some time. One thing I love about Goodpasture’s Devotio group is how they always convey the message in a way that young people can relate to. 

The lessons they teach remind us of God’s position in our lives. On Friday the 6th, they showcased skits that taught a lesson about our relationship with God. One of the skits featured the Devotio performers with letters supposedly spelling the word “Christ”. 

However, not all of the letters were there, and without the word completed, they were lost on what they were supposed to do. Eventually, they gave up trying to teach people a lesson and walked away. 

I think that it symbolized the idea that without Christ, we are lost. We cannot navigate life without him, which is why it is important to have a relationship with Him. 

The next skit featured people who were there at the scene of Jesus’ death, along with a label for us. They took turns telling us what role they played in it. Although they were in different roles, they all agreed that we all contributed to Jesus’ death, but he forgave us by dying on the cross. 

I think this is a good lesson to learn because often, people think that some sins are greater than others, which puts people down. What we have to remember is that we all sin, and that our faith and belief in God is what saves us.

The next series of skits included many scenarios where one person in the relationship didn’t stay loyal to the other. That person broke the trust and relied on other things to satisfy them.

The point of this particular skit was to show that often, we rely on things other than God to satisfy us, even though those things are temporary. Distractions mess with our loyalty and relationship with God, and only hurt the situation instead of helping the connection.

The skit that they ended with showed a man who held onto many grudges. One by one, his relationships were failing, or people were treating him poorly. Every time there was a problem, a backpack was added. This made it heavy for him to carry, and he could barely walk or move. Instead of forgiving and letting it go, he kept piling on the baggage. 

At the end of it, God came to speak with the man, and he asked God to get rid of the baggage, even though it was hard for him to let go. Eventually, he was freed of the baggage and grudges he had been carrying.

I feel that this was the most important lesson for us to learn. Oftentimes, we carry grudges that heavily impact our lives. This can become a problem, and eventually we cannot carry it at all.

 We have to remember that God is there for us and can take our pain away. He can free us from the pain we suffer and set us free so that we can live our lives to the fullest.

I think Devotio is a great way for us to learn about God and the lessons he wants to give us through our peers, because they teach it in a way clearly understood by us.