Friday Didn’t Like Saturday

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, April 25.

By Gina Wahlen

Friday didn’t like Saturday.

Friday is the name of a Seventh-day Adventist boy in Tanzania.

Although Friday was Seventh-day Adventist, he liked many things that Seventh-day Adventist boys shouldn’t like. He liked bad language. He liked bad friends. He liked to break the Sabbath by doing things that he shouldn’t do on God’s holy day.

The one thing that Friday should have liked was Saturday. His father and mother had taught him since he was a wee baby that Saturday is the seventh-day Sabbath. It is a special day set aside by God to remember that He created the heavens, the Earth, and everything in it, including Friday, in six days.

But Friday became sad when the sun set and the Sabbath began. Friday didn’t like Saturday.

One Sabbath, the Sabbath School teacher told Friday and the other children not to go home after church.

“I’ve prepared some food for you,” he said.

Friday stayed.

When he and the other children had finished eating, the teacher said, “Wait, wait. Before you go, I want to invite you to a special program.”

Friday stayed — and he liked the special Sabbath School class very much. The teacher led a good discussion from the Bible and gave a fun homework assignment to do during the week.

Friday began to look forward to the Sabbath School discussions and assignments.

One Sabbath, the teacher read in the Bible, “‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23, NKJV).

The teacher asked why Abraham was a friend of God and pointed out helpful verses to read in the Bible. All of the children agreed that Abraham was God’s friend because he had faith and obeyed God.

Friday raised his hand.

“Teacher, I don’t think that I’m a friend of God,” he said.

“Why do you say that?” the teacher asked.

“I come to church every Sabbath, but I don’t obey God and keep the Sabbath holy,” he said. “I also do other things that God doesn’t like. I’m not a friend of God at all.”

The teacher looked at the boy kindly.

“Do you want to be a friend of God?” the teacher asked.

“Yes. I want to be a friend of God,” the boy replied.

The teacher assured Friday that he could be God’s friend if he had faith and obeyed like Abraham.

Friday was eager to become God’s friend.

When he returned home, he read the Bible and talked with God. He confessed to God that he liked many things that Seventh-day Adventist boys shouldn’t like. He repented and asked God to help him to be obedient.

The next Sabbath, Friday returned to Sabbath School and declared, “Now I am a friend of God!”

The other children were very happy for him. They smiled, laughed, and congratulated him.

The teacher was pleased.

He said to the rest of the children, “All of you can decide to be like Friday and become a friend of God.”

Friday no longer says bad words, and he keeps the Sabbath day holy. He also has invited his old friends to come to church with him. Four boys have come, and one of them decided that he also wanted to become a friend of God. He gave his heart to God and was baptized.

Friday’s life has changed a lot. Now Friday loves Saturday.

One of the mission projects for this quarter is the Zanzibar Seventh-day Adventist Dispensary, a clinic in Friday’s country of Tanzania where many children do not know about the Sabbath and the Lord of the Sabbath. Thank you for giving generously to this important project