Helping Hands. Humble Hearts

June 13, 2021

Bible Readings

Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.

1 Corinthians 12:12-20

Memory Verse

Philippians 2:4

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (ESV)

written by Ron VandenBurg
illustrated by Chad Thompson

On the playground, Milo, Sophia and Casey, Mark, and Brian are standing in a group. Mark uses a wheelchair. Milo says, “Let’s get to the Four Square court before the line gets too long.” Maybe they leave the pavement to do a shortcut across the grass.

All the others cut across the grass and race off to the other side of the playground to where the Four Square court is. Casey has stopped and waits for Mark, “Hey Mark, can I help you get over there?”

Mark and Casey take the long way around. They are racing along the pavement to the Four Square court. Mark is ahead of Casey who is running. He says, “Thanks for asking, but how about we race each other there the long way?”

Print Comic

Think about a time when you needed help. Maybe you were doing a job with your family and had to pick up something heavy. Or perhaps you were riding the city bus for the first time by yourself and were scared you might miss your stop. We all need help at times!

When have you been asked to be the helper? God reminds us in Philippians 2:4 to look for ways to help others. What would you do if your sister asked for help with a craft? What if you ended up doing more of the work because your fingers handle glue and glitter better than hers? What if helping her meant you missed the chance to go to the park with friends? You might feel frustrated.

Our feelings of frustration are very real feelings, but when you choose to help someone, you are letting God take over your hands and heart. It can be a hard choice, but when we make time to help others, it is a good choice.

Amazingly, when we help others, we also learn about community. Community means living and working together, taking care of each other. God’s great design includes all of us fitting together. No one has to be alone!

There may be times when you might not know how to help others. When you see people who seem stronger and smarter than you, you might wonder what you can offer. Trust that God will show you ways to help, through your hands in doing or your heart in loving.

Prayer

God, thank you for creating me as part of your amazing world. Help me to find ways to be helpful to others. Amen.

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Sara Pot

Sara Pot is a parent of four daughters, two of whom are medically fragile with complex needs. She is passionate about the inclusive vision of belonging, and this filters into her work with schools, writing, workshops and family advocacy with children's paediatric rehabilitation services. Sara and her family live in St. Catharines, Ontario.