Daily Devotional for December 12, 2018
Telling the Truth (Part 2)
Marie was sitting alone on the steps, watching a group of girls play, when Lacey arrived at school. As Lacey sat down, Marie rolled her eyes. “I thought you were going to go play with the other girls,” she said. “Go ahead. I don’t care if no one likes me.”
Lacey took a deep breath. “It’s not that no one likes you, Marie. The girls would be happy to have you join them.”
Marie snorted. “I don’t want to play their dumb game. Mine are way more fun!”
“You do know a lot of fun games,” Lacey said, “and you’re fun to play with—but don’t you see? Other kids want to choose games too. They don’t dislike you. They just don’t like it when you’re always telling them what to do. So come on—play this game with us now, and we can play yours again later.”
Marie hesitated. “I don’t know how to play that one,” she said finally.
“We’ll teach you how. Come on.” Lacey stood up. “I’m going to go play. I hope you’ll come play with us too.”
Marie watched as Lacey walked away. She tried to be mad at Lacey for deserting her, but in her heart she knew Lacey was right. She thought of a conversation she’d had with her mom a few days before, when Mom had told her how God sometimes used other people to make Christians aware of sin in their lives. “It can be difficult when someone tells us a hard truth or points out when we’ve done something wrong,” Mom had said, “but Jesus uses others to speak truth into our lives because He loves us, and He’s making us grow to be more like Him.”
I guess I have been acting pretty selfish lately, Marie thought. Please forgive me, Jesus, she prayed. Help me grow to be more like You.
With a sigh, Marie slowly got up and approached the group. “I’m sorry I’ve been bossy and difficult lately,” she said. “Can you show me how to play your game?”
The girls smiled and nodded, and Lacey beamed. “Sure, Marie,” she said. “We’d be happy to teach you.” – Elaine Childs
How about you?
Has someone tried to tell you a hard truth lately? Maybe it was something about yourself you didn’t want to hear. It’s never fun to have our faults pointed out, but don’t get angry. Jesus often uses others to show us sin in our lives and help us grow. Listen when someone tells you a difficult truth, and ask Jesus to forgive you for any wrong you’ve done. Then trust Him to help you change and grow.
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