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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, teach me to believe I'm a good person, so a mean comment can't hurt me! Amen.

"Are you the king of the Jews?" Governor Pontius Pilate asked Jesus. "You're the one who says I'm a king," Jesus told him, "but I'm not a king of this world. I've come to tell the truth, and anyone who wants to hear the truth will listen to me."

Adults often tell kids to ignore anyone who says something mean. "It's easy for them to say," you think. "They're not the ones being hurt!"

What the adults probably mean is that, if you know the truth about yourself -- that you're a good person -- and really believe it, no one can change your mind. That's what Jesus meant, too, in this week's Gospel (John 18:33-37).

Lots of people trash-talked Jesus. They said He was crazy, full of Himself or just didn't know what He was talking about.

In this week's Gospel story, Jesus has been arrested and taken to the governor, Pilate, and Pilate demands to know whether it's true that Jesus has been saying He's a king. There's already a king in the country, so Jesus would get in trouble for claiming He's the real king.

But Jesus knows who He is. He's the Son of God, the Messiah, the savior of the world. He hasn't come to replace Pilate and the other leaders of one country; He's the king of heaven.

Jesus knows the truth about Himself, so no one's meanness can get to him.

If another kid's meanness is getting to you, think about why that's happening. Do you believe you're a good person? If not, find some people in your life who can help you learn that about yourself and believe it. It really is possible to be able to brush off a mean kid's comments.

Jesus knew what was true. You can, too![[In-content Ad]]

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