Our Kids are all either in college or almost in college now. When they were little, we would set them down in front of the TV when we had some house cleaning to do and we would pop in a video. (You remember what a VHS tape is, right?)

Anyway, their favorite videos were called “Duncan and the donut man” Duncan was a talking donut that always got into trouble and the donut man was always rescuing him form some strange peril. As bizarre as this might seem, these videos taught our kids to pray and trust that God heard them. One of the things the donut man sang to the kids each week was a song titles: Life without Jesus, is like a donut…there’s a hole in the middle of your heart.

I started thinking about ole’ Duncan the donut this week when I thought of the tragedy in Boston. I thought about the victims who were harmed by those explosions during the Boston marathon. I thought about the people who planted the bombs and the realized just how far we can go when our lives are not directed by the grace and forgiveness of Jesus.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where we feel angry and we lash out at someone else. Anger and bitterness fill that hole in our hearts. Or maybe we feel like we’re insignificant or depressed about our lives, and we create a wall of loneliness and isolation. That too can fill that hole in our hearts.

This is where the donut man’s words ring true. “Life without Jesus is like a donut. There’s a hole in the middle of your heart.”

Only Jesus can forgive freely. Only Jesus can restore a broken heart or rescue us from a bitter spirit. He is the only thing that fits in the center of our lives. And no matter how big the hole in your heart is today, Jesus is a perfect fit every time!

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.