Elevated Friday, April 12th, 2019

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of a young teenager’s display of a true heart for Jesus. In South Brunswick, NJ, 13-year-old Gavin Mabes was doing what most teenagers do in his free time – hanging out with friends. One morning recently, Gavin and his buddies arrived at a local skate park and found it empty except for 5-year-old Carter Bruynell and his mother. Carter and his mother were celebrating his fifth birthday and were there early because Carter is on the autism spectrum and large groups of older kids make him nervous. We’ve all seen how mean kids can be to each other, especially when in groups. However, when Gavin led his buddies over to Carter, it was not to bully him – it was to make friends with him. They all skated together that morning and ever since, Gavin and his friends have continued to foster their friendship with Carter by finding other occasions to play with him. In a world that seems to lack compassion and kindness sometimes, stories like this show that there are still good kids who understand the importance of being kind to others.

Jesus preached on the things in life that God loves and wants for us. One of those things is the idea of inclusion. Inclusion brings together and intermingles different people as if there is no difference. Paul wrote on the subject in Galatians, saying, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” When we recognize that God’s love resides in us all, inclusion is the only Christ-like response to everyone. Today, make efforts to include those you have yet to in Jesus’ name.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:28 ESV

Original Article:

https://bit.ly/2U48wOs