Daily Devotional for August 16, 2019
Not Like Me
After running some errands, Serena and her mom stopped at their favorite playground. It had lots of tunnels and fast slides. When Serena climbed to the highest point of the playground, she saw a girl around her own age sitting in the sandbox, tracing circles in the sand with a lonely look on her face.
Serena raced down a slide, intent on asking the girl if she wanted to play. But she suddenly jerked to a stop. When the girl turned the other way, Serena noticed that she had no right arm! Serena spun around and ran the other way.
Mom was sitting on a picnic blanket, sipping on lemonade. Serena plopped down beside her. “Mom, I think I’m ready to leave now.”
Mom frowned as she poured Serena some lemonade. “What’s going on, sweetie? We just got here!” Serena sighed. “Spill it, kiddo,” Mom gently prodded.
“Well . . . see that girl over there?” Serena inclined her head toward the sandbox. “I—I was going to ask her to play with me because she looked lonely, but then I got scared. I don’t know what to say to her! She’s just . . . not like me.”
“Serena, have you trusted Jesus as your Savior?” Mom asked quietly.
Serena flashed a dimpled smile and nodded.
“Then who do you have in you to help you love others and be like Jesus?” asked Mom.
Serena’s eyes lit up. “The Holy Spirit! So, even though that girl may be different from me, I can still show her the love of Jesus.”
Mom gave her a squeeze. “Don’t forget, Serena, just because someone looks different from you doesn’t mean they need a different kind of love. We all need the love of Jesus. And who knows? Maybe you’ll make a new friend!”
Serena poured a cup of lemonade and stood up to make her way over to the girl. “Mom, I know that Jesus talked about reaching out to others by giving them a cup of cold water, but I think this girl might like lemonade even better!” Savannah Coleman
How about you?
Do you have trouble talking to people who look or act differently from you? If you are God’s child, you have His Holy Spirit inside you to help you love others like Jesus. You don’t have to be afraid of saying something wrong; simply reaching out to someone in love despite differences speaks the loudest of all.
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