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Read: 2 Samuel 9:3-11; Luke 14:13-14
“Lose your kickball scrimmage?” Dad asked.
Will buckled his seatbelt. “No. It’s Carter again.”
“The boy who uses a wheelchair?” Dad grinned. “He’s funny.”
“Dad! Should you say that about someone who can’t walk?”
“Why not? He wears a T-shirt that says ‘A Wheelchair Is How I Roll.’” Dad put the car in reverse. “He must have a great sense of humor.”
“Well, I wish he wouldn’t watch us from the sideline the whole game.” Will shoved his dirty sneakers into his duffle bag. “I don’t know why he wants to play with us anyway. Don’t they have Special Olympics for kids like him? He should just play with his own kind of kids.”
Dad put the car in gear. “Grab the Bible out of the glove compartment, Will. I want to show you something.”
“You don’t have to read me a Bible verse about being nice, Dad. I don’t do anything mean to Carter.”
“Just turn to Second Samuel 9.” Dad waited for Will to read the passage. “Well?”
Will sighed. “King David asks if there’s anyone left in his friend Jonathan’s family and learns Jonathan has a son named Mephibosheth who can’t walk. So David finds him and tells him, ‘Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness, and you will always eat at my table.’”
“King David didn’t ignore Mephibosheth or make him sit at a separate table for people with disabilities,” Dad said. “David included him. That story is a picture of what Jesus does for us. He died for us so we could be included at His table, even though we’re sinners. And He wants us to include others.”
Will twitched his eyebrows the way he always did when he was thinking hard. “But how can we include Carter? You have to run in kickball. He can’t run.”
“That’s your puzzle to solve,” Dad said.
The next afternoon on the kickball diamond, Will assigned positions to his players.
“Who’s pitching?” someone asked.
Someone on the sideline caught Will’s eye. Carter.
“Wait.” Will jogged over to where Carter sat. “Can you pitch? You just have to roll the ball to the kicker.”
Carter’s face lit up, and he patted his chair. “I’m an expert at rolling. I’d love to pitch!”
–Holland Webb
How about you? Do you include everyone you can in games and other activities? Even if it takes some extra effort to include someone with a special need? We all have a need for Jesus. If He hadn’t died for us, we could never be included in His reward in heaven. How can you show others His kindness by including them?
Today’s key verse: When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Luke 14:13-14 (NIV)
Today’s key thought: Include everyone you can
