Suffering Persecution  (Read 1 Peter 4:12-16)

Tom picked up his lunch tray and headed for a table of
talking, laughing boys. But before he could sit down, one of
the boys plopped his jacket onto the empty chair, "Sorry,"
he said with a sneer. "This seat is taken." Then as Tom
turned to leave, he heard someone say, "We don't want
that Christian to sit here!" The way he said "Christian"
made it sound like something bad.

In math later that day, Mrs. Brown announced,
"The winning team in the local math competition next
week gets a trophy and goes to the state contest next
month. The students who will represent our school are Amy,
Rita, Bob and Tom."

"Lucky bums," growled one of the students.
"Luck had nothing to do with it," said Mrs. Brown. "Hard work
did. These students have put out the necessary effort to get ready
for the competition. I know I can count on them to do their best."

Back home, Tom told Mother about being chosen for the
contest. Then he told her what had happened at lunchtime.
"Sometimes I wish I could be like the other kids so they wouldn't make
fun of me," he confessed.

Mother frowned slightly. "Think about what Mrs. Brown said,"
she suggested. "The reward comes to those who can hold up even
when the going gets tough. Tell me, have you always felt like
studying your math?" Tom shook his head. "But you studied
anyway," Mother pointed out. "You earned the privilege of entering
the contest. And just as you wouldn't want to exchange math
averages with boys in your class, I don't think you would really
want to be like them in other ways. I know it seems hard when they
reject you, but the reward for serving the Lord is much greater than
the reward for studying math. Don't let them get to you. Keep doing
what God wants  you to do." S.L.S.

How about you? - Do you sometimes get the feeling that living the Christian life is to hard? Do you wish you could do what everyone else does so no one will make fun of you? God has promised that he will not allow you to be tempted more than you can bear. Ask him to give you strength to be faithful to him.

Key:  Be Strong in Christ

Memorize: "You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says" 1 Corinthians 10:13

This is out of the book "The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids"  BUY IT  Copyright @ 1993 Children's Bible Hour

Updated 8/1/01