TEXT: 2 Timothy 2:1-4; 3:14-15

“Boy, I sure had a neat thing happen at school today,” Travis said as he stabbed an olive and popped it into his mouth.

“What’s that, Son?” his father asked as he sipped his coffee.

“Well, there’s a kid in my class who is really awful. Josh is mean to everyone and swears and picks on all the little kids. Everybody hates him!”

“He does sound like he’s rather hard to get along with,” Travis’ mother said, smiling at him.

Travis nodded his head. “Today, though, my glue bottle spilled and I went into the restroom to wash my hands. I heard someone crying, so I looked around the corner where the noise was coming from. It was Josh. I could hardly believe it! I mean, he’s so awful I didn’t think he knew how to cry!”

“That’s really sad,” his mother sighed, shaking her head. “Did you say anything to him?”

“I asked him what was wrong, but he acted like he was really mad, so I started to go away. Then I thought, What would Jesus do? So I went back over to him. I told him I was sorry he was feeling sad, but I wanted to help if I could. When he stopped crying he told me he had found out just before coming to school that his mom and dad were getting divorced. His dad left this morning and said he wasn’t coming back.”

“The poor child! No wonder he’s so troubled,” Travis’ father said.

“Josh told me he doesn’t think anyone loves him at all. I told him I know Someone who loves him—Jesus. I said that Jesus loves him with all His heart.”

“What did Josh think of that?” his mother asked.

Travis grinned. “That’s the neat part! He said he didn’t know anything about Jesus. He asked how I know so much about Him. I told him all about Sunday school and how I was saved. Now he wants to come too!”

“How wonderful!”

”Yeah, it sure felt good to help him,” Travis said, “and Jesus will help Josh too!”

This lesson deals with the importance of telling the good news of salvation to those around us. During this week, talk to your child about ways he can share Jesus with others. Ask him which of his friends may not know Jesus, and pray with him specifically for those friends each night at bedtime.

Help your child figure out different ways to share Jesus with his friends: inviting them to Sunday school, showing a Bible story book to a friend, giving the friend a lesson sheet or something he made in Sunday school, playing “church” with his friends, etc.

Perhaps he would enjoy creating a personal invitation for one of his friends. Supply him with paper, marking pens, and the necessary information regarding time and place and see what he comes up with!

FAMILY DEVOTIONS