Are You a Church Member?
I wish we had something fun to do,” sighed eleven-year-old Ricky, with his freckled nose pressed firmly to the window pane.
“Did you finish your homework yet?” Mother asked, looking up from her sewing.
“Sure did. Now I’m ready for something different.”
“Since you’ve already finished your chores for the day, why don’t you pray that God will show you how to best use your free time?” Mother suggested.
“Okay,” said Ricky.
A few minutes later, the shrill little voice of nine-year-old Judy rang through the living room. “Mom, Dad, look down the street!” she cried.
“What is it, honey?” Mother asked.
Darting back toward the front window, Ricky announced, “A moving van! Hey . . . not a bad looking vehicle!”
“But look at the ugly old car the people drove up in. Don’t they have anything better than that?” said Judy.
“Interesting,” Dad mused as he approached the window. “It looks like they’re actually moving into the old Peterson house. That place has been abandoned for months. Great—now maybe they can spruce it up a bit and some of those dried-up weeds will finally be mowed.”
“Mom, look! They have a little girl. But what about those strange old clothes she’s wearing? . . . Hmmm . . . I don’t know if I’m really going to like her!” Judy said.
“Uh-oh,” gasped Ricky. “The boy is in a . . . wheelchair! These kids are not going to be much fun to play with. . . .”
“Now, children,” Father said. “Think for a minute. Is this the way Jesus would welcome new neighbors to His block?”
The children pondered for a moment.
“Well, not exactly,” admitted Judy.
“But Dad,” said Ricky, “What can we do to make the new neighbors feel welcome?”
“Well, after a long trip, maybe they’re tired, hungry, and thirsty,” mentioned Mother.
“Let’s take them some fruit juice and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!” Judy exclaimed, joyfully.
“That’s a nice start,” Mother smiled.
“Dad,” Ricky noticed, “I don’t see a father in the car. It’s just a young-looking lady with the boy and girl, and a really old grandpa-type-of-fellow was driving the rental van for them. Maybe . . . well, maybe we should give them a hand to unload.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea, son,” agreed Dad. “And after all their things are unpacked, we can plan on helping them with some of those old weeds.”
“Mom, the Lord is good. Maybe the pretty pink dress that Aunt Sue gave me would fit that little girl exactly,” Judy said. “And you know what else?”
“What, honey?”
“Ricky’s prayer for something fun to do was answered!”
“For sure,” said Ricky. “And now that you mention it, our Bible memory verse for this week was: ‘He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he’ (Proverbs 14:21). Now that is really interesting—we’re getting a chance to see our verse come to life! I like it when that happens!”