YOUR CHRISTIAN ARTICLES
STORIES BY MARY WRUCKE
STORIES FOR KIDS
STORIES FOR TEENS
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STORIES FOR KIDS
Doug fell headlong as he was walking down the aisle toward his desk in school. The books and notebooks that he carried flew in all directions.
"You tripped me!" he said to Terry as he picked himself up.
"I did not! You're just clumsy!" replied Terry.
Children were snickering all over the room.
"All right! Let's have quiet!" said the teacher.
Doug picked up his books and glared at Terry. "I'll get even with you!" he whispered fiercely.
Back at his desk he tried to study but instead he kept thinking about getting revenge. This wasn't the first time that Terry had pulled a dirty trick on him. He would have to do something to make Terry look foolish, just as Terry had done to him.
While he was trying hard to think of a good plan, he did very poorly on his math test, getting five wrong out of ten.
It was the same way with spelling. He couldn't keep his mind on it and
spelled "receive" with i before e and "relieve" with e before i. When he came to the word "trespass" on the spelling test, it reminded him of a Bible verse, Matthew 6:14: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."
Then Doug knew what his problem was. His anger at Terry had so filled his mind that he couldn't think straight. I have to forget my plan of getting even. I have to forgive Terry, Doug told himself.
That was what the Lord wanted him to do, he knew, because He said so in the Bible. For the first time in his life, Doug saw how the sin of anger could take over his mind, so that he could not even remember how to spell simple words or answer questions in math, his favorite subject!
Doug decided not just to forgive Terry. He decided to tell him he was sorry for threatening to get even. But first he silently prayed, Dear Jesus, please forgive me for being angry. Please help me to be a witness for You.
I am gong to invite Terry to my Sunday. School. .Please work in his heart, so that he'll learn to know You, too.
After school Doug caught up with Terry and said, "It was wrong of me to say I'd get even with you for tripping me. I'm sorry."
Terry was so surprised that his mouth dropped open and he forgot to deny that he had tripped Doug.
"Oh, uh, well, uh, I guess it was wrong of me to trip you in the first place. I--I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"OK, let's be friends," said Doug, sticking out his hand. "Will you come to Sunday School with me next Sunday?" he asked.
"I don't know," said Terry. "What do you do there?"
"We learn about Jesus, how He died on the cross to save us, so that we can go to heaven and be with Him. It was something that Jesus says in the Bible that told me I should forgive you," said Doug.
"Then I'd better come to your Sunday School and learn about Jesus, too," said Terry.
By Mary Wrucke, reprinted by permission of The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, UnionGospel Press, P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
Sue was visiting her friend Sally Morton. They were baking
cookies and having a lot of fun.
"These cookies are good," said Sally's mother. "I'd like to take some to the neighbor across the street while you girls wash the baking dishes and put away the spices."
"Ok, Mom. but be sure to tell them that Sue and I made them," said Sally.
"If they like them," added Sue.
Mrs. Morton laughed. "I'll tell them there are two expert bakers over here
that are looking for work," she said.
Sue washed and Sally dried. Cleaning up was almost more enjoyable than the baking had been until Sue picked up the glass mixing bowl It slipped out of her sudsy hands, hit the edge of the sink, and broke in two. Both girls gasped in dismay.
"What will your mother say?" asked Sue.
"She'll blame me, because she told me to use the plastic bowl," said Sally, "but we won't tell. "I'll put the pieces in this bag and take them to the garbage can."
Sue didn't think it was the right thing to do, but she was so worried about telling Mrs. Morton that she didn't say no. While she was drying her hands the door opened and Sally's mother came in.
"The neighbors just loved your cookies," she said. "Where is Sally?"
"She--she went outside," Sue answered.
"I hope she didn't let you do the dishes alone," said Mrs. Morton.
Sue hung up the towel. "Oh no. We did them together."
The girls spent the next hour listening to records in Sally's room, but Sue didn't enjoy herself at all. Finally she whispered, "I think I'll tell your mother the truth."
"Don't you dare!" Sally said fiercely. "Then she'll know we used the wrong bowl and that I hid the pieces."
When Sue got home, she couldn't look at her mother and went right to bed without dinner. Her mother came into the room and felt Sue's forehead. "You don't seem to have a temperature. Do you have any aches or pains anywhere?"
Sue started to cry. "Mother, if two people do something bad and one of them covers it up, is it wrong for the other one to tell?"
"If it's something bad, it's wrong not to tell." said Mother.
"But I'll get Sally into trouble with her mother."
Mother took Sue's hand in hers. "If Sally is hiding something, she is in trouble with God, and that's worse than being in trouble with her mother. 'A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape' " (Proverbs 19:5), Mother quoted.
Sue jumped out of bed. "If I don't want us both to be in trouble with God, I'd better go right now and tell Mrs. Morton that I broke her bowl."
By Mary Wrucke. Reprinted by permission of The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press, P.O. Box 6059. Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
The Hammond family got up early every morning to have devotions. They took turns reading a Bible story. They talked about it, asking how it could teach them about life today.
One morning, Phil read the story about Daniel in the lion's den. As he finished reading, he said, "That teaches us we should not be ashamed of our faith."
"That's true," said Father. "God saved Daniel from the lions because he was faithful. But there are some other unusual things about Daniel."
"What are they?" asked Teresa.
"He was one of the captive Israelite children that the king of Babylon took into his palace. The king trained them in his learning and language, choosing the brightest and healthiest."
"And Daniel was bright and very healthy," said Phil.
"Yes, he was. He refused to eat the king's meat or drink his wine, because it was not according to God's law. He and his friends got permission to eat vegetables instead. At the end of ten days, they were brighter and stronger than the others."
"I guess that means we should eat vegetables," said Teresa.
"Yes, it does," said Mother, smiling.
"And before God saved Daniel from the lions, He saved Daniel's friends from dying in a fiery furnace," said Father.
"Oh, yes, I remember that story," said Phil. "They wouldn't bow down and worship the image of the king, so he had them thrown into the fire. They were like Daniel. They were not afraid to stand up for God."
"But we can learn much more from the book of Daniel," said Mother. God gave him the power to know the meaning of dreams."
"Doesn't God give us that power?" asked Teresa.
"God gave us the Bible, which shows us how God revealed Himself to people back then, to show them that He was almighty," said Mother.
"God revealed Himself to King Belshazzar," said Father. "God had a hand come out and write on the wall."
"I remember that story," said Phil. "Daniel had to tell the king what the writing meant."
"But first the king called in his own wise men and astrologers," said Mother. "They couldn't tell him a thing. Many people today are interested in astrology and read their horoscopes all the time."
"My friend Jeanie does that," said Teresa. "She asked me when my birthday was, and she told me I was a Leo."
"If she would read the Bible, she would see that God does not approve of astrology," said Mother.
"Another thing that is becoming popular is witchcraft," said Father. "In I Samuel 15:23, God calls witchcraft a sin. We should have nothing to do with it. Neither should we use fortune-telling games or go to fortune-tellers."
"The others at school make fun of us when we are different," said Phil
"But God will help us," said Teresa, "the way He helped Daniel."
By Mary Wrucke. Reprinted by permission of The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press, P.O. Box 6059,Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
STORIES FOR TEENS
"That does it!" Timothy glared at the grade on his algebra exam. He was in his third year of high school. He had put off taking algebra the first two years but now needed it in order to graduate.
His friend Jenny sympathized. "I'm sorry, Tim. I wish I could help you, but I barely passed the test myself."
"I'm going to quit and get a job," threatened Timothy.
"Oh, no, Tim. Maybe you can get a special tutor in math. My cousin did that, and he managed to graduate."
"Tutors don't work for nothing, and Mom and I are just scraping by as it is."
"I'll pray about it," volunteered Jenny.
Timothy sneered and said, "Good old Jenny! Prayer warrior for the whole high school!"
Ignoring his sarcasm, she insisted, "There is real power in prayer."
"Sure, sure," he scoffed. "Pray that God will make me an Einstein over night and He'll do it!"
"No, I'll pray that He will give you wisdom to deal with your problems and that you'll put Him first and trust Him."
Timothy made no reply but cast her an angry glance. Jenny managed to preach to him every time they met. He was a Christian, too, but she was such a fanatic.
At supper that night Timothy told his mother that he had quit school and was going to get a job. He did not tell her about his trouble with algebra. She worked long hours, and he did not want to burden her with his school work.
His mother looked at him with troubled eyes. "Oh, Timmy, can't you stick it out? There's just one more year after this!"
Timothy's mind was made up. The next evening he phoned Jenny. "Say, Jen, your prayers are answered."
"How?" she queried softly. "You were not at school today."
"I got a job delivering bread for Friedson's Bakery. Isn't that great?"
Jenny sighed so loudly that Timothy could hear it over the phone. "That isn't exactly what I prayed for."
Timothy answered her with a loud laugh. As the days went by, the job did a lot for his morale. He felt especially proud of himself when he got his first paycheck. He decided to give half of it to his mother and to save some to buy a car so that he would not have to ride the bus to work.
Frank, a cashier at one of the stores he made deliveries to, invited him to come home with him for supper. "My wife, Carla, is a great cook."
Timothy was flattered and readily accepted, calling his mother at work to tell her.
Frank was right about his wife being a good cook. The supper was delicious, and both he and his wife were very friendly. Timothy felt awkward when they began the meal without prayer, but he silently thanked God for the food without any outward sign. He felt there was no need to embarrass his hosts.
After supper they went into the living room to watch television. Timothy enjoyed this because he and his mother did not have a TV. The program was a sitcom with lots of worldly humor.
"Would you like a beer?" asked Frank. "Carla and I usually have a beer or two while we watch television."
For just a second Timothy hesitated; but they were such hospitable people, and one beer certainly would not hurt him. "OK,' he assented.
He did not like the beer but drank it anyway. After the sitcom and some commercials, Frank switched the channel to another program, one that Timothy could not honestly call clean. He was a guest in their house, however, and certainly could not dictate what they should watch. He sat through the bad language and the cursing and the off-color jokes and pretended to enjoy himself, laughing right along with Frank and Carla.
When that program was over, Frank produced a flat black box. "I rented a video. It's one we haven't seen."
"Oh, good!" exclaimed Carla.
The video was anything but good.
Timothy, try as he might, could not keep the shock from showing on his face.
"What's the matter, Tim? Would you rather watch something else?" leered Frank.
"No, this is fine," Timothy lied. What is the matter with me? I'm certainly not behaving the way a Christian should. Here I am, watching this filthy stuff when I should be witnessing to them!
Timothy tried to think about something else, something to take his
attention away from the video. The thought of Jenny came into his mind. She would never sit and watch such stuff. I guess I need more of her courage. Believe me, Lord, I will never come to this house again.
Frank took him home about midnight, but Timothy could not sleep for two or three hours. His guilty conscience bothered him. He forgot to set the alarm and was an hour late for work the next day.
Timothy hoped that Mr. Friedman would understand when he
explained about forgetting to set the alarm, but that man understood far too well.
"What time did you get home last night? You can't keep late hours and expect to hold down a job! I thought you were going to be a good. dependable worker, but I was wrong. You're fired!"
On the way home on the bus, Timothy brooded about what a failure he was and decided to take his own life. He could not eat lunch, could not pray, could not concentrate on anything except that he was a no-good bum.
At about three o'clock, Jenny called. "Hi, Tim. I just got home. I miss you at school, and I'm still praying for you."
"You're too late with your prayers. I'm gong to end the whole business."
"What?"
"I'm going to end it all. I just haven't decided how." He almost enjoyed shocking her.
"Timothy! You've got a job now, and your mother needs you!"
"I was fired today. It's a long story, and I won't go into it. Anyway, I'm just worthless, so I may as well end it."
"Tim, God loves you! He doesn’t want you to do such a terrible thing!"
"Well, why didn't God give me some brains or some backbone? In the past twenty hours I've lost a job, I drank beer, I watched a filthy video, and I as much as denied Christ. I'm just no good!" He slammed the receiver down.
He searched for pen and paper and began to write a farewell note to his mother. While he was writing, her car drove up and she dashed into the house.
"Tim, are you all right? Jenny called me at work, and she said--"
She could not say the dreadful words. In the next instant her arms were around his neck, and she wept on his shoulder.
"Mom, I'm just no good. I was at Frank's for supper, and they're worldly people. I drank beer and watched a dirty video, just as if I were one of them!"
"God will forgive you! You just have to ask Him!"
"Besides that, I was late for work and lost my job."
"You can go back to school." she wiped her eyes, still sniffling.
"I can't go back to school. I flunked algebra."
She gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was ashamed to tell you. You work such long hours--"
"My hours have been changed. Starting next week I don't go to work until nine, and I can help you with algebra, because I've always been a whiz at math. Will you go back to school?"
Timothy drew a deep breath. "Maybe, with your help, I could make it."
His mother smiled through tears. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13).
Timothy called Jenny and said, "Your prayers are answered. I've got a math tutor. It's my mother, and I'm coming back to school."
By Mary Wrucke. Reprinted by permission of The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press, P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
Presumptuous Brenda
"Brenda, are you going to the game tonight?' asked Susan
"No, I can't." answered Brenda. "I'm baby-sitting for the Crowleya."
Susan wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Do you mean the Crowleys on Third Avenue?"
"The same." Brenda sighed and nodded. "I need the money."
"I know what you mean," sympathized Susan. "I needed money last fall, and I sat for them a couple times. I doubt that the kid's behavior has improved."
The Crowley children were unruly and undisciplined and had a reputation for turning baby-sitters into wrecks. Brenda had been more successful than most sitters because she was patient and firm. Still, she dreaded the evening ahead. She had a long essay to write for social studies, and hoped to work on it while the children were asleep. The problem was that at least one of the Crowley children usually was awake and making demands for food, drink, or whatever his inventive little mind could think of.
Brenda prayed fervently for a better way to earn money, but so far God had not answered her prayers.
She had been home from school only a few minutes when the phone rang. "Brenda, this is Susan. I've got a better job for you tonight. It's sitting .for the Jensen's new baby. He sleeps all the time, and they pay well. Mrs. Jensen asked me to come, but I'm going to the game."
It was tempting. Brenda knew that she would get very little home work done at the Crowleys, and they never paid more than the barest minimum. She could try to persuade her younger sister Ellie to substitute for her.
This must be the answer to my prayers for a better job,. It must be God's will! The thought that Mrs. Crowley might not want a young, immature baby-sitter also occurred to Brenda, but she put it out of her mind.
The Bible verse, "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" (Luke 6:31) hung in the background like a shadow, but Brenda ignored it.
Mrs. Jensen was pleased when Brenda called and offered her services.
Now, Brenda told herself, all that remains to be done is to talk Ellie into baby-sitting for the Crowleys. Ellie had been saving for a new pair of tennis shoes. that should help her to decide
Brenda's conscience still bothered her a little. Ellie was only thirteen, two years younger than herself, and those Crowley children sometimes presented real problems, like the time the two-year-old choked on a button.
Thankfully, he had coughed it out
Ellie hesitated when Brenda approached her. "How late will it be? You know Mom doesn't like me to stay out too late."
"Mom won't mind. It's Friday--no school tomorrow. Anyway, the Crowleys are going to a seminar that lasts only two hours."
"Those kids are such little rascals, though! Peggy told me the oldest boy kicked her in the shins, and she was black and blue for a week!" said Ellie.
"Oh, Peggy is prone to exaggerate," scoffed Brenda. "I've been taking care of them for months. I'll agree that they are more difficult than some, but they are never violent."
"How do you know Mrs. Crowley will want me?" asked Ellie.
"I'll call her and see."
Mrs. Crowley seemed reluctant. "Are you sure she can handle my children?"
"I think so," said Brenda with a positive tone. "She's quite good with children."
The woman still hesitated, but finally told Brenda what time to send Ellie.
At the Jensen home, Brenda took a peek at the peacefully sleeping baby, opened her books and started her homework, congratulating herself
on how she had worked things out. The baby did not once need attention, and Brenda earned twice as much as she would have at the Crowleys.
When she got home, no one was there. Her parents had gone to a concert and then to a restaurant, so she did not expect them before midnight or one o'clock. However, Ellie should have been home. The Crowleys never stayed out very late, being too afraid of what might happen while they were gone.
Brenda went to bed and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. Why did I let Ellie go there? I should have gone myself. Please. God, let her get home soon and tell me that everything went beautifully at the Crowleys.
Why didn't I send Ellie to Jensens and go to the Crowleys myself? I didn't need extra money that badly, and I would have got my home work done somehow. At midnight she could not stand the suspense another minute, and dialed the Crowley's number.
A tearful Ellie answered, "The Crowley's aren't here."
"Tell me why you're crying!" Brenda demanded.
"There--there was an accident," came the sobbing reply.
"What happened?" Brenda almost screamed.
"Bruce climbed up on top the bookshelves. He fell and hit his head!"
"Where is he now? Where are his father and mother?" Brenda tried to keep the panic out of her voice.
"They came home--" Ellie could not control her vice and had to stop speaking.
"Yes, yes. They came home. Then what?"
"They came home just when I was picking him up off the floor. They took him to hospital, and I haven't--I haven't heard a word."
Brenda forced herself to speak. "Listen, Ellie, we have to pray. I'll hang up in case the Crowleys try to call you, but you pray right now. OK?"
"Yes, I've been praying."
A recent Sunday School lesson came into Brenda's mind. The Israelites, and the twelve spies in the land of Canaan, Joshua and Caleb, the only two with faith in God's promise. What stuck in her mind was the presumption of the others. They decided to go up against the Canaanites. They were soundly defeated because it was not in God's will.
Brenda fell to her knees and asked God's forgiveness for her presumption. "My conscience bothered me, but I ignored it. I know it is not Your will for me to shove my responsibility onto my younger sister. Please forgive me, and please, Lord, bring little Bruce home safe."
When at last Ellie arrived home, her eyes were red, but she smiled at Brenda. "Bruce is going to be all right."
"Oh, thank God!" cried Brenda.
"Yes, I thanked Him too, and I asked Him to forgive me for being careless."
"You weren't necessarily careless, were you?" asked Brenda. "It's almost impossible to keep track of all three of those children at once."
Ellie shook her head. "No, it really was carelessness on my part. I sat them down at the kitchen table with cookies and milk. I thought it would keep them busy for a while."
"Yes, that usually keeps them quiet for about three minutes," agreed Brenda.
"Well, I was watching TV in the den. I got interested in the program and forgot to check on them. I heard this terrible thump in the living room, and when I got there, Bruce was on the floor, unconscious."
"How did you know he had climbed up on the bookshelves?"
"The two younger ones told me, and just when I was picking him up, his parents came home. Brenda, I am so sorry I was careless. I should have done a better job."
"Perhaps you should have, and I should have assumed my own responsibilities instead of shoving that job onto you and calling it God's will. We have been studying about presumption in Sunday School. It is interesting how people in the Bible thought they were doing God's will, when they were doing just the opposite."
"Do you think God chastised you for being presumptuous tonight?" asked Ellie.
Brenda smiled. "He gave me a good scare. From now on I'll be more careful about calling my own desires God's will."
By Mary Wrucke. Reprinted by permission of The Incorporated Trustrees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press, P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland, Ohio 44101
The plane ride from Honolulu to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea was long and tiresome to fourteen-year-old Eric. He did not want to leave the friends he had made in America during the year of furlough, and he dreaded going back to the small mission school where his mother and another missionary wife took turns teaching. His school-mates would be twelve-year-old June Crane, her nine-year-old brother, Bobby, and Eric's own sister, twelve-year-old Angela. Not much football material in that group!
"Almost there, Eric," said his mother. "It seems we've been gone longer than a year, doesn't it?"
Eric merely nodded in reply. She was trying to cheer him up, but she was wasting her breath. Nothing could make him happy about returning to that bug-infested island. Angela thought it was great because she would soon be seeing her best friend, June, but Eric had nobody in particular to look forward to.
Eric's parents, Tom and Margaret Hansen, and another missionary couple, the Cranes, conducted a Bible school near the small mountain town of Wau. The students were young nationals who wanted to learn to read and write and serve the Lord as preachers in their bush villages.
At the Port Moresby airport , another missionary couple met them. After the customary hugs and greetings, the woman said, "Wouldn't you like to stay overnight with us and rest up after that long plane trip?"
"Oh, no, thank you just the same, replied Eric's father. "I can't wait to get into my plane. "It's all ready to go, isn't it?"
"Yes, I've had the mechanics check it out," answered the other man.
Sure, thought Eric. Dad has his precious plane, Mom has Mrs. Crane, Angela has June, and I have nothing.
The trip through the mountains took longer than usual because of fog and clouds. Eric almost wished they would crash into one of the huge mountains all around them. There would be no more loneliness then, no more schoolwork, and no more bug bites. Almost with regret, he saw the green landing strip and watched his father expertly land the plane.
It did not help his attitude to witness the reunion between the Cranes and the Hansens. The only one left for him to hug was Bobby. He ignored the child, until it occurred to him that Bobby might be lonely also. Quickly he picked the boy up off the ground and gave him a big squeeze. "How are you, Bobby?"
Bobby grinned and looked up at him. "Wow! You grew!"
Eric grinned back. "So did you." At least the boy had eyes in his head!
Next day the dreaded school work began, with both parents reminding Eric that he had to apply himself in order to qualify for college. Four more years! How could he stand it?.
His attention was diverted from his own problems when Bobby came to school with his eyes red from weeping. The boy's mother explained, "Three native boys killed Bozo, Bobby's dog. They roasted it over an open fire and ate it."
"How awful! Do you know the boys who did it?" asked Mrs. Hansen. "Do they come to our church?"
"Yes, and that's what's sad. One of them is Rico. His parents come to the Pidgin services, and Rico used to come."
"I know," said Eric. "He came to Sunday School every Sunday. He was in my class, but I haven't seen him since we got back from the States."
"He must have got into the wrong crowd," said Mrs. Crane.
Bobby had stopped crying, but his face was still downcast. Eric felt like crying himself.
"I'll call on Rico after school," he promised Bobby. "It won't bring your dog back, but maybe I can find out what's wrong with Rico."
After school Eric knocked on the door of the little house where Rico lived. Rico's mother, barefoot but neatly dressed in the conventional meri (blouse) and lap-lap (long skirt), came to the door. Eric spoke to her in Pidgin, since she did not understand English. "Rico i stap we?" (Where is Rico?)
She answered, "Em I stap lus." (He is gone.) She told Eric that she thought he had gone with some boys to pan gold in the river.
Eric thanked her and left. He felt guilty that he had not kept in contact with Rico.
He could have written to him, and he should have looked him up when he came back. Now he remembered a Bible verse about forgetting the past and pressing forward for the Lord, (Phil. 3:13-14), and he resolved to do that very thing.
He found Rico with two other boys, throwing rocks into the water. "Hey, Rico!" he called.
The native boy turned. "Yes? What do you want?"
"I haven't seen you since I got back. I thought maybe you'd like to come to my house for supper tonight."
It would be better than eating Bobby's pet dog, Eric thought. He knew, however, that it was common for the nationals to eat dogs, cats, rats, snakes, birds--because they were starved for protein.
Rico thought it over and then yelled to his friends, "I'm going to his house for supper!"
They walked along slowly until they came to the bridge. Eric suggested that they sit on the ends of the planks, so that they could talk. "I haven't seen you in Sunday School," he ventured.
"I quit, that's why," retorted Rico.
"Why did you quit?" asked Eric.
Rico resorted to Pidgin, "Mi no laikim!"
"Why not?"
The other boy spoke in English again and said, "I never learned anything."
"Didn't you learn that God loves us and sent His Son to die so that we can be born again into His family?"
Rico exploded, "Hah! Me in God's family! Only nice white boys like you get into God's family!"
"Rico, you can't be serious!" Eric said with a gasp. "You know that skin color makes no difference to God. All He cares about is that we believe in Him and repent of our sins!"
"What sins?"
"We all have sins. The Bible says, 'For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God' " (Rom. 3:23).
"I don't believe it," declared Rico. "I don't do bad things."
"It was a bad thing for you to kill that dog, even if you were hungry. You could have gone fishing, the way you and I did a year ago. Remember? We caught lots of fish."
"Why was it a bad thing for me to kill the dog?" asked Rico.
"Because it was a little boy's pet, and you broke his heart. His eyes are red from crying."
Rico sat very still. "He felt pretty bad, did he?"
"Yes. He was still crying today."
"Hurting somebody is a sin?"
"Yes, and hurts Jesus, too, because He loves us."
Rico began to cry. Between sobs he prayed, asking Jesus to forgive his sins and to be his Saviour.
Eric prayed too, thanking God for giving new life to Rico and for giving Eric a friend in New Guinea. He resolved that he would try to do God's will instead of feeling sorry for himself.
He put his arm around Rico. "Come on, it's supper at my house."
By Mary Wrucke. Reprinted by permission of The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press, P.O.Box 6059 , Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
CONTACT MARY WRUCKE