On Your Guard

To the young soldiers:

Do you know how much God loves us? A whole lot. A lot more than anyone else in the whole world. Most of us have parents who love us. Sometimes when we do what’s wrong, then our parents have to spank us. It isn’t very fun at all and it hurts a lot. But it is for our good.

Betsy was playing with the matches by the wood stove. Her mother found her there and took her into the bedroom and spanked her. Betsy cried a lot but she learned that the matches are not something to play with. If her mother had not spanked her she might have accidentally started a fire in the house, or she might have got burned with them. So even though it hurt, it was good for her mother to punish her.

Sometimes God has to correct or punish us, too. It isn’t because He doesn’t like us. Oh, no! He loves us a whole lot! But He does it for our good. He knows that patience and kindness will make you happy. Do you want to be patient and kind? Sometimes God allows other people to be mean to us. Or He makes us wait a long time for something we want.

Anyone can be kind to the people who are kind to them—even people that don’t love Jesus. But Jesus wants us to have His kindness, the kind that works when people aren’t being kind to us. He knows when others are mean to us. It makes Him very happy when we are kind back to them, even if no one else sees it. We have to have Jesus’ love to have that kind of kindness.

When we are sick we usually wish to feel better again right away. It is hard to think that being sick is any good, but it can be! The flower is cheerful when it’s sunny and when it rains. It might like the sunshine better, but what would happen if it didn’t get any rain? It would slowly die. Just like the flower we need hard things (like the rain) as well as sunny times. God could make you feel better right away if it would be best for you. Sometimes He does but, maybe He wants you to learn how to be patient. You can’t really have true patience if you get the things you want right away.

God loves us so much that He sends what’s best for us. Even though we may not like His best right now, we will later. When you look back and see today then you will realize that God’s way was best.

Love,
Another one of God’s soldiers