Working Together

Bible Reading: Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 4:1-6

“Go, Silas! Go!” yelled Austin, jumping up and down in his enthusiasm. He watched as his teammate tucked the football under his arm, jumped over another player, and sprinted down the field. “All right!” Austin cheered wildly as Silas scored the first touchdown of the game.

At the dinner table that evening, Austin gave his family a blow-by-blow account of the afternoon’s game. Over and over they heard the name Silas as Austin described the various plays.

Finally, Austin’s sister Kara held up her hand. “I’m sick and tired of hearing about all the wonderful plays Silas made!” she declared. “I thought the two of you didn’t even get along that well. But now all you do is sing his praises.”

“Well, he may not be my favorite person in the world,” Austin admitted. “He’s not my best friend or anything, and we don’t always see eye-to-eye, but he’s on our team. We work together for the same cause. We’re both Greenville Cougars!” He paused. “You should have seen him run this afternoon. Peter passed the ball to Silas, and he ran down the field like a bolt of lightning. The other team—”

“Oh no!” Kara groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “Here comes another episode of ‘Silas, the Amazing Football Player.’”

Mom laughed. “I’m glad you enjoyed your game so much, Austin,” she said. “It’s nice that your team won, and it’s also nice that you’ve found something to admire about Silas. We should always look for positive things in others.”

“I think Austin has given us a good example of how we should view other Christians,” observed Dad. “We may not agree with them on everything, and they don’t all have to be our best friends. But we should remember that we’re on the same team—God’s team. We all know Jesus as our Savior and have received forgiveness for our sins through Him. Together, we’re working to tell others about Jesus and share His great love with the world.”

“Just like Silas and I are working on the same team to win our football games,” said Austin.

“Yes,” Dad said, “and like Mom suggested, we can love and appreciate our teammates, even those we’re not close with.”

-Hazel W. Marett

How About You?

Is there a fellow Christian who annoys you? You probably enjoy being with some Christians more than others. But remember that all who know Jesus belong to Him, and that makes you teammates. Jesus loves all of us, and He helps us love each other too. Trust Him to help you love and appreciate the other Christians He’s put in your life. Then work together as teammates to serve Jesus and tell others about Him.

Today’s Key Verse: Galatians 3:28 You are all one in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Christians are your teammates