MAY 14, Galatians 6:2

“I don’t see why I have to go to the hospital to see Anne,” grumbled Diana. “Even though she’s in my Sunday school class, we aren’t really very close friends, and I have other things that I want to do!”

“There must be lots of things Anne would like to do, too,” said Mom, “but she can’t do them today, either. We have told her we would visit her in the hospital, and this is the only day this week we can do that.”

“Oh, all right!” agreed Diana, but she didn’t look very pleased. She was still pouting when they left a little later. “I still think this is a big waste of time,” she muttered under her breath. Mom was silent as she eased the car out of their home in Ang Mo Kio. After a while, she turned to Diana. “Do you remember what Jimmy said last month when you had a toothache?”

“I sure do!” said Diana. “He wanted me to play a game with him while I was suffering with that awful toothache! Brothers are so unfeeling!”

“But what did he say?” persisted Mom.

Diana frowned. “He said I wouldn’t be playing ball with my tooth – only my hands and legs – so I should forget my toothache! What an insensitive remark!”

“Well, why couldn’t you do that?” asked Mom.

Diana stared at her mother in disbelief. “Mom! Not you, too!” she protested. “When my tooth was hurting so badly, I felt unwell all over because my tooth is part of my body. That’s how you explained it to Jimmy, don’t you remember?”

Mom smiled. “Oh, I remember all right,” she said. “I just wondered if you did. I thought you had probably forgotten.”

“Why did you think that?” asked Diana.

“Well, you can’t see why we should visit Anne,” replied Mom, “but she’s part of the body of Christ, just like we and all other Christians are. When she hurts, we should hurt, too. When you had that toothache, you would have done whatever you could to make it feel better, wouldn’t you? When someone who is part of the body of Christ is hurt, we should do what we can to help that person feel better, too. Perhaps our visit with Anne will help brighten her day.”

“I…” Diana hesitated. “Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s make it a good visit!”

Thought: Do you help others?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me not to be selfish or shy to help other Christians who may be having a hard time. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.