A Perfect Example

Before eating her lunch, Aranya bowed her head and closed her eyes to pray. When she opened her eyes, her lunch bag had disappeared. A few kids watched her and snickered. Aranya sighed. "Who has my lunch?" Several kids burst into laughter."Ask God where your lunch is, Miss Christian," said Rob. "You always talk to Him, don't you?"Mrs. Yates, their teacher, walked over. "The person who has Aranya's lunch will hand it over right now," she said sternly. She paused. "I said now," she repeated. Rob hesitated, then pulled Aranya's lunch bag from his backpack and handed it to her. She quietly took it.When Aranya arrived home, she told her mother what had happened. "I was so embarrassed, Mom. Not all the kids in my class make fun of me, but some of them call me Miss Christian all the time. I just don't know how to act when they're mean to me. I really felt like throwing something at Rob today--and some of the other kids too--but I didn't.""I'm sorry, Aranya." Mom gave her a hug. "Your teacher emailed me about what happened, and she's talking to some of the other parents." Mom sighed. "The Bible tells us we'll be mocked and persecuted at times for following Jesus, but knowing that doesn't make it any easier, does it?" Aranya shook her head. "I keep thinking about how when Jesus was persecuted, He didn't fight or talk back."Mom nodded. "Follow His example." She paused, then asked, "Do you remember the book you used when you were learning to write? There were letters and words printed on the top line of each page. You copied them the best you could.""And Jesus is my example for how to act when kids tease me, right?" asked Aranya thoughtfully. "I should copy Him." She sighed. "But I'm not perfect like He is.""No, but since you trust in Him, you have the Holy Spirit, who is helping you become more like Him," Mom said. "Think about how your letters looked when you first started copying them. Your writing looks a lot more like the letters at the top of the page now than it did when you started. And as you follow Jesus's example, trust Him to let others see more and more of His love in you." -Mary Rose Pearson