Family Movie Devotionals: Space Jam

In Space Jam, the Looney Toons find themselves in trouble. They are going to be enslaved by aliens to work in their theme park! They challenge these aliens to a game of basketball for their freedom. When these aliens cheat and steal talent from professional basketball players, the Looney Toons realize they can’t win on their own. They need a hero. They have no choice but to ask the best basketball player in the world, Michael Jordan, to help rescue them. Michael Jordan agrees, and they eventually wins the game and their freedom!

Just like the Looney Toons in this movie, we find ourselves in a game we can’t win against sin. Sin is when we do things our own way instead of God’s way. Sin separates us from God, and everybody sins. Some examples are lying, disobeying, hurting people, making fun of someone, and many other things. The Bible says we are slaves to sin. Even though we try to fight it on our own, we will always fail. We are not strong enough to defeat it! We need a hero.

Jesus Christ is the hero we need. Because all of us sin, we all deserve the punishment of death. But Jesus chose to take the punishment that we deserve when he died on the cross. Three days later he rose from the dead, and that was how he defeated sin! When we believe in Jesus, we are raised with him into new life.

Romans 3:22-24 says, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

No matter how bad we are, no matter how helpless we are in the fight against sin, Jesus is always strong enough to save us. He loves us so much and is excited when we turn away from sin and run towards him.