SEPTEMBER 28, Galatians 6:2

Paul sighed in relief as he answered the last question on his test paper. He thought he’d done well, and it made him feel good to know his studying had paid off. Just then he noticed a movement in the next row. His friend Jeff was sliding a small paper out of sight before jotting down some figures. Then Jeff took another secret glance at the paper, finished the test, and handed it in to Mr. Arul. Paul’s heart sank, “Oh, no! Jeff cheated!”

All afternoon Paul wondered what he should do. Should he tell Mr. Arul? Accuse Jeff? Forget he’d ever seen anything?

In the bus journey home, Paul recalled what his Sunday school teacher, Teacher John had told the class last week. “Christians need to encourage and help each other. All of us need to nudge each other!” Teacher John had said.

As Paul remembered those words, he thought of Jeff. He knew Jeff is a Christian, and that in a moment of weakness he had given in to the temptation to cheat. Jeff needed a friend to encourage him to be strong in his Christian life – a friend to talk to him about what he had done. Paul sighed. He really didn’t want to be the one to talk to Jeff. He might get mad about it, thought Paul. Maybe Teacher John could talk to him. But Paul was the one who had seen what had happened, and he knew what he needed to do.

After he reached home, Paul called Jeff. “Hi, Jeff,” Paul greeted his friend. “I need to talk to you because I saw what happened during the test today.” Jeff was very surprised, and Paul continued speaking. “I really think you need to tell Mr. Arul what happened, and that you’re sorry,” he said. “I’ll go with you if you want. Maybe he’ll let you take another test. If he does, I’ll help you study so you can pass because you understand it, not because you cheated.”

Thought: When someone does something wrong, do I get angry and accuse him or tell on him?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, grant me boldness to confront an erring brother in love so that he repents and seeks Thy forgiveness. Help me to love, encourage and care for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.