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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me always try to be good, because you're watching and waiting to give me a reward! Amen.

"Be like servants waiting for their master to come home," Jesus said. "Blessed are the servants who are awake and waiting when their master comes home, even if it's very late. He'll have them sit down, and he'll wait on them! So be ready, because you don't know when I'll be coming back."

Kids often try to talk adults into giving rewards for good behavior. "If I don't ask for a toy, maybe I'll get one?" you think while shopping. Grownups may even suggest it: "Stop bugging me about buying a bunch of things and I'll get you the 'Finding Dory' fruit snacks," one of your parents says at the grocery store.

We're supposed to be good because we're supposed to be good, not just to get rewards -- but even Jesus promised some rewards for good behavior. In this week's Gospel (Luke 12:35-40), He mentions one.

Often, when you're asked to be good with the promise of a treat, it's because you're in public. Adults expect you to behave especially well when you're at church, school, the store or in any other public place.

In the Gospel story, Jesus talked about being good even at home. His story was about servants waiting for their master, doing their jobs even when no one was around to make sure they were behaving and getting work done.

The story is really about us: Even though God isn't standing over us in person, we're supposed to be good and understand God is watching.

A toy or special food shouldn't be the only reason kids are good, but it's fun to get a treat sometimes! Jesus promised a really great treat for being good, too: When God, the "master," comes back and finds people being good, we'll get to go to heaven!

Jesus talked about the master waiting on the servants. Being taken care of by God is a pretty amazing treat -- even better than fruit snacks![[In-content Ad]]

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