A Sick Friend
A SICK FRIEND
Read Romans 8:18-23.
Sam sat on the porch steps, his chin propped up in his hand. There was a baseball game on TV, but he didn’t even care. All he could think about was Roberto! Just the week before, the boys had taken a hike around the park. Now Roberto was in the hospital, seriously sick. When Sam’s mom had talked to Roberto’s mom that morning, Mrs. Joakim said the doctors had told them Roberto might not get well. That was scary! Sam sat and thought about his friend.
The screen door opened behind him, and Sam’s mother brought out a glass of lemonade. “I thought you might be thirsty,” she said.
Sam drank the lemonade without even noticing how good it tasted. “Mom, why did Roberto get sick?”
“Well,” replied Mom, “all the bad things that happen to us are a result of sin entering the world. It’s because of sin that the world is out of balance. Death will come to all of us sooner or later—through sickness, through car accidents, or through other ways. The important thing is that God cares about us, and he cares about Roberto. He is there to give comfort to the Joakim family. He is there to help Roberto face the situation. We should pray that Roberto senses the comfort that the Lord can provide.”
“Mom, could we pray right now?” Sam asked.
So Mom sat on the step next to Sam, and together they prayed for Roberto.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Has there been a time when one of your friends or a relative was very sick? Sickness and death are a result of sin entering the world. But God gives comfort to Christians! He promises them an eternal home in heaven. Through Him you can have peace, even in the most difficult times.
TO MEMORIZE:
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
Romans 8:18
GOD GIVES COMFORT.
From the book
