Things That Go Together

James 2:14-18

Luisa was playing “Things That Go Together” with her little sister, Bonita. “What goes with this?” asked Luisa, pressing a felt shoe onto the felt board. As Bonita picked up felt socks to put them next to the shoe, their brother, Esteban, came barging into the room. “Get out of here!” Luisa ordered. “This is our game.” But Esteban didn’t leave. He stayed and teased them and made a nuisance of himself. “I said get out of here!” repeated Luisa. She felt her temper swell. He continued to tease her. Finally Luisa hit her brother.

“Mom!” Esteban called. “Luisa hit me!” When Mom appeared, both children bombarded her with complaints. A few minutes later, both were sent to their rooms.

It seemed like forever before Mom called Luisa and Esteban back to the playroom. She had set up the felt board, and on it she had placed some paper figures. “This Things That Go Together game is good for teaching Bonita how to match things,” Mom began, “and it can be good for big kids too.” She pointed to some pictures on the board—a Bible, a person praying, a cross, and a church. “All of these items represent our faith in God or our belief in him,” she said. Then Mom pointed to some words—love, faith, worship, anger, and teasing. “Which of these go with the pictures?” she asked.

As Luisa looked at the board, her lip quivered. Even though Esteban had teased her, she knew that hitting him did not go together with her Christian faith. And Esteban knew that pestering his sister did not belong there, either.

“When we say we believe in God, our behavior should . . .” started Mom.

“Go together . . .” continued Luisa.

“With our faith,” finished Esteban.

How about You?

How do you treat the kids at school whom you don’t particularly like? Are you patient and kind with your brothers and sisters? If you believe in Jesus, you need to do things that match your faith.

Memorize:

“Now someone may argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ I say, ‘I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.’” James 2:18