God's Beloved Community: A 5-Day Reading Plan for KidsSample

Day Four: Everyone Matters

“For he himself is our peace.”—Ephesians 2:14, niv

Rather than loving those who are different

and treating all with care and grace,

we treat some people better than others

simply because of race.

Devotion

Sometimes, instead of enjoying all the ways that we are different, we fight with each other. We might even feel scared of people who look different from us or live in different ways than we do. This is especially true when it comes to the color of our skin. Sometimes we don’t even realize ways we are feeling scared of someone with a different skin color than us. But God’s dream of beloved community is BIGGER than our fear and fighting! Jesus helps us be color-brave so we can get to know people who are different than we are and let them get to know us too.

Prayer

Dear God,

I don’t like it when people are unkind to me. I don’t want to be unkind to others either. Help me see ways I can help build your beloved community. I want to be a part of your colorful dream!

Amen.

Activity

What is something you can do this week to get to know someone who is different than you? Maybe you see a kid at school getting left out at recess. Invite him or her to play! Maybe someone in your neighborhood or at the playground has different color skin than you. Smile and say hi! Being kind to others is a way to show that everyone matters to God.