Just Like Me!

"To make an apt answer is a joy to anyone, and a word in season, how good it is!" (Proverbs 15:23)

"Mom, mom! Guess what! My teacher said that Jesus was adopted just like me!" Karen’s little face was alight with happiness as she ran up to me in the church parking lot.

"What did your teacher say, honey?"

"She said Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ real daddy, God was. That Joseph was like my daddy. A love daddy, not a born daddy. So see, Jesus was adopted just like me."

I don’t remember what the Sunday school lesson was about that day, but I’ll never forget the message our daughter received. Her teacher had just the right words to bring total bliss to a little girl’s heart.

It’s really scary when I think of how many times I’ve had the opportunity to say just the right word and either haven’t taken it or even noticed that it needed to be said. I’ve often rerun conversations in my mind and mentally kicked myself for a golden opportunity lost. Twenty-twenty hindsight is a marvelous thing!

Thank goodness God sent his Son, not a fallible human, to give us the right words in the right way, or we’d never have gotten the message: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" — the way for us all to be God’s adopted children.

Beyond the Door
1. Can you recall a time when a Sunday school teacher’s words taught you something special? Think about the experience, and thank God for that teacher.

2. If you have taught Sunday school, can you recall an experience where a student taught you something special? Pause and thank God for that student.

3. "God setteth the solitary in families," Psalm 68:6 (King James Version) tells us. And Jesus echoes that thought when he tells his disciples, "I will not leave you orphaned" (John 14:18). What other "right words" of Scripture come to mind that bring you the comfort of knowing Jesus has made you a part of his family?

4. How do you help others, children included, to see that they are part of God’s family as well?

5. Sometimes your presence, as well as "right words," can pass on God’s love to others. Think of that the next time you are silent with a friend or family member or child.