2 Timothy 4:6-7 "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith..."
The newspaper article in the Florida newspaper told it in grim detail. The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported the death of a 12 year old boy who hung himself. Why? The merciless taunting of his classmates because of his weight. The boy was 5 foot 4 inches tall and weighed 174 pounds. Seems the classmates couldn't get enough of teasing him. So one evening at midnight, he crawled out of the window of his home and went to the backyard tree, got a stool, slung a rope over a branch and hung himself. His 8 and 10 year old brothers found him as they were getting ready for school. His mother collapsed as the paramedics pronounced him dead on the scene. The father immediately took an axe and cut down the tree.
You might say the boy was literally teased to death. Isn't that absolutely tragic?
One observer put it this way: Our kids learn a lot about science and math - but they don't really hang onto the instruction about compassion.
But let me ask you...surely there was at least ONE student in his school who was a Christian, who could have befriended him, and made him feel welcome. WHERE WERE THE CHRISTIANS?
Maybe this same situation is brewing at your school. Are there others who need your care? As a Christian, take the initiative.
Let's not stand by this September! Let's get to work!
Verses for study: 1 Timothy 6:12 - "Fight the good fight...:
2 Timothy 4:9 - "Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me..." Jesus wants followers who are loyal to Him! No deserters, no cowards. Let's show Jesus we mean business.
