When the Earley family moved from their farm in West Virginia to a large city, Mr. and Mrs. Earley realized it might take a while for their five children to adjust to much larger schools. You can imagine how anxiously Mrs. Earley waited for that first school day to be over, so she could hear how each child had gotten through the day.
Michelle (15 years old) was jubilant. “Guess what, Mom?” she said, “I met a couple of really nice kids in every class!” Stephen (age 17) said honestly, “I didn’t make any friends, and I didn’t make any enemies!” while Cheri, the youngest (10) said excitedly, “Mom, I love this school!”
But with Christopher (14) and Cindy (12) it was a different story. “I felt lonely,” Chris said. “Nobody talked to me.” And Cindy just wished she were back at Greenbriar — the school in West Virginia she had not liked before!
We are not all Michelles and Cheris, and, of course, God did not intend us to be alike. However, we can learn from each other, and perhaps we can also see a picture of ourselves in each one of these responses.
Michelle was older than Chris, and she had learned that you have to be friendly in order to make friends. She realized that every student in school, just like every grownup, is basically lonely. Each one is looking for someone to take a personal interest in him or her. But above all, Michelle knew from experience that only the Lord Jesus can fill a lonely heart. She had accepted Him as her Saviour, seeing that He loved her so much He gave up His life for her.
Let me tell you what Michelle’s secret power was. She had made up her mind to go to school, not just as a student, but as a missionary! This new larger school was going to be a new opportunity for her to tell others of her loving Saviour who could fill any empty heart. One way she could do this was by wearing a button on her collar that said, “Jesus is coming again,” or she could leave a tract at the side of her desk, praying that a friend or classmate would ask to read it. Or, she would look for opportunities to link an assignment to something in the Bible. (This had been an opportunity her mother had used when she was in high school, though she would never have worn a button or given a tract or even carried her Bible with her, as her older brother had bravely done. Yet her mother had been brave enough to stand in front of her whole classroom and give a book report on the Bible.)
Do you think God liked one way better than another? Not at all. If you are a Christian and know for sure that Christ has put all your sins away by His death on the cross, God wants you to tell that good news to others. You may ask Him, “Lord Jesus, open the way for me to tell this good news to the girl (or boy) next to me or someone else today.” He may arrange events to make this happen in a very natural and easy way.
Often just a quiet life of “not making a friend or an enemy” is more powerful than we might think. Eventually what we live of Christ will cause others to wonder and ask questions. However, let your joy show. Just a smile to someone you pass in the hallway can put sunshine into a lonely heart and pave the way for sharing with them the One who promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:55Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5).
Are you a missionary at your school? Often the most popular and attractive students at school are the most empty inside and are looking for something real. If you have never tried telling someone about your Saviour, try asking God for help. He says, “Ye have not, because ye ask not” James 4:22Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. (James 4:2), and, “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:1414If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:14). Why not ask Him right now? He longs to answer and show His power to you as well as to the person you talk to. “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:1616For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16).
ML 05/06/1990