AUGUST 8,  1 Thessalonians 5:15

Derek quickly stepped into his classroom when he saw Jason coming down the hall. "He’s a big bully," Derek thought. "He’s always mean to me! He makes fun of me!" Derek was right. One day Jason had teased him about his haircut. “You look like a dog,” said Jason. The next day it was Derek’s shirt. “Only girls wear shirts like that,” Jason jeered. “Jason’s so mean,” Derek complained to his dad one evening.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Dad. “I guess you’ll have to remember that Jesus tells us to love our enemies. I know it’s hard, but try to be nice to Jason. Pray for him.” Derek sighed.

The next day, Derek and Jason were assigned to work together on a project. Derek wished he could hide. He glanced over at Jason. To his surprise, Jason looked nervous! "Why?" Derek wondered. Knowing Jason is weak in English, he picked up his English book and walked to Jason’s desk.

“You want to read first, or shall I?” Derek asked. “You,” Jason said. He put his head on his desk. “Jason, open your book, please,” their teacher said. “Turn to page 37. I want you to read the first page.” She smiled at Derek and walked away. Jason’s face flushed, but he turned to the correct page. It was about the fishing industry. Derek’s eyes widened as Jason started to read . . . very slowly. “The f-f-f,” he began. He stopped and started over. “The f-f-f-st…” Jason stopped again, and Derek grinned. “Pay back time!” thought Derek. "I never paid attention to Jason’s reading group. I didn’t know he is so bad!" As Jason continued to stumble over the word, Derek chuckled, but his dad’s words came to mind: Jesus tells us to love our enemies. As Jason struggled with words, he looked scared.

“Sound it out, Jason,” Derek whispered. “Keep the f’ sound, and then make the sh’ sound instead of st.’ I’ll help you.” Derek couldn’t believe what happened next. Jason looked up at him… and smiled!

Thought: Have you had a difficult time getting along with someone at school? A bully?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sometimes I feel like getting even with someone who has offended me. Remind me that You want me to love my enemies and pray for them. And so please help me to look for opportunities to share Jesus’ love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.