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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, when I feel misunderstood, teach me to really appreciate the people who are there for me! Amen.

As Jesus was dying on the cross, people made fun of Him. Even a criminal crucified at the same time yelled, "Save yourself and us!" But another criminal said, "Shut up! We're getting what we deserve, but He didn't do anything wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Remember me in heaven." Jesus promised,"You'll be there with me today."

"No one understands me!" you yell. Whether your parents are frustrated with you or a kid in school is saying you're weird, you're feeling as if, no matter what you do, you can't explain yourself and make people understand. No one gets you.

Boy, would Jesus relate to that! Reading the Bible today, you'd think people in Jesus' time would have understood that He was a good person just trying to help people get closer to God, but amazingly, very few people realized that and followed Him. Most people couldn't stand Him.

In this week's Gospel (Luke 23:35-43), their lack of understanding has an ugly result: People are so sure Jesus is a bad guy, they crucify Him - and even as He's dying, people make fun of Him.

Even when you feel like no one understands you, there probably are people who do: someone in your family, a friend or a teacher who's sympathetic and listens. Even if it's just one person, it helps to have that person in your life.

It helped Jesus, too. For all the people who criticized Him, as He was hanging on the cross, a person hanging next to Him - someone suffering the same pain as Jesus - realized Jesus was being unfairly punished. The man was a criminal, but he sympathized with Jesus.

Hopefully, the people you can lean on when you feel no one understands you become friends who can lean on you in their own tough times. When Jesus was comforted by the criminal, He promised that man would go to heaven. Being there for other people is just as important as being understood yourself![[In-content Ad]]

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