Fitting In

Bible Reading: John 17:12-16

“Check this out!” exclaimed Jack. He sat holding his phone at the back of the bus, surrounded by a bunch of boys. Their eyes widened as they looked at the screen.

“Ryan, come take a look!” shouted Jack. Ryan was sitting a few rows up.

“No thanks,” Ryan replied. “I’m at a really good part in my book.” He knew what kind of pictures they were looking at.

“Hey, guys! The new kid thinks he’s too good for us!” said Jack. All the boys laughed.

I’ll never fit in here, Ryan thought as he fought back tears. But one slipped out onto the page of his book just the same.

After school, Ryan was reading at the kitchen table with his little brother, Alex, who was having a glass of juice and playing with a toy car. In a burst of excitement, Alex crashed the car into his glass, spilling juice all over Ryan’s book.

“Look what you did! You are such a jerk!” Ryan shouted.

“Ryan! You may not speak to your brother like that. Where did all this anger come from?” asked Mom as she came over to help with the mess.

“I have to sit all by myself on the bus because all the other boys are looking at bad pictures!” exclaimed Ryan. “I’m never going fit in here!”

“Oh, honey,” said Mom, putting her arm around his shoulder. “It will get better, I know it will.”

Just then, Alex started to cry. He had started working on a wooden puzzle and couldn’t get a piece to fit. Ryan knelt beside him to help when he noticed something.

“Silly Alex!” he exclaimed. “You’re trying to put the farmer into the city puzzle! You got your puzzles mixed up.”

“I think we can all get our puzzles mixed up sometimes,” said Mom. Ryan gave her a quizzical look. “The farmer fits just fine into the farm puzzle, and, Ryan, you fit just fine into God’s world. Because we trust in Jesus, we are sometimes going to feel like we don’t fit in here. That’s because we belong to a different world altogether. We are citizens of God’s kingdom because Jesus has saved us and is making us more like Him.”

“I never thought of it that way,” said Ryan. “I guess I do fit in after all!”

-Laura Kuehn

How About You?

Do you ever feel like you’re a square peg in a round hole? Like you just don’t fit in? Jesus didn’t fit in when He was on earth either. Because of your faith in Him, you may make different choices than your peers. That’s okay. It’s because Jesus says you are not of this world. Just remember that you fit perfectly into His.

Today’s Key Verse: Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

You are accepted by God