APRIL 23, Philippians 2:4 

“This is cool!”exclaimed Philip as he and other members of his Sunday school class hiked through Bukit Timah Reserve. Sometimes they walked easily along the well beaten trail. Other times they had to scramble over fallen branches or make their way around them. “Beat you to the next bend in the trail, Tom,” called Philip. But as he started off, he tripped on a tree root, and down he went! “Ouch!” he cried, grabbing his ankle. Their teacher, Michael, hurried over as Philip got up. “I think I can walk okay,” said Philip, gingerly testing his ankle. “It doesn’t hurt too bad.”

“It will be easier for him if he doesn’t have to carry the extra weight of his backpack,” suggested Tom. “I’ll carry it for him.” “Me, too,” chimed in several other voices.

“Thank you, boys,” said Michael. So for the rest of the hike, the boys took turns carrying Philip’s backpack.

At the end of the hike, the boys came to a clearing and had lunch. “You know,” said Michael, “what you boys did for Philip today reminds me of what Jesus tells us to do. In life, we each carry our own ‘backpack’ of responsibilities and problems, but if any one of us has a load that’s too heavy, the others ought to help carry it until that person is able to handle it alone again. You helped Philip physically, and Jesus wants us to help others spiritually as well. Think of a few ways kids like you get burdened down and what a friend could do to help.”

After a moment, Philip spoke. “Some kids have trouble with schoolwork, and then they’re tempted to cheat,” he said. “Maybe we could offer to help them with studying or with school projects.”

“Yeah, and we could make friends with new kids at school and invite them to our class,”offered Tom.“We could even invite the tough or naughty kids to come.”

“If somebody’s bike breaks down, we could let him borrow ours,” said Pete. “We could pray for the kids, too.”

Michael nodded. “Good suggestions,” he said. “ This week, let’s see how many people we can help with their ‘backpacks’ of burdens.”

Thought: Is there someone whose burden you can help carry?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to be helpful to others. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.