“Hey…what are you losers doing here?” Bryan the bully yelled as he approached with a gang of his buddies.

Pepe and two of his friends, Tom and Bernice, were playing outside near their homes. As soon as Pepe heard Bryan’s voice, he turned and was surprised to see him and his buddies, all dressed in yellow clothes.

Pepe chuckled. The sight was so funny that he forgot all about Bryan’s rudeness.

“Why are you all dressed in yellow?” Pepe eyed them.

“Don’t even…” Bryan replied as his face turned red. But then, Eleanor interrupted and said matter-of-fact, “Haven’t you heard, losers?” Yellow is the way of today. Yellow is the color we should all wear. Yellow brings happiness and coolness to our lives, losers!”

After this short speech, the three bullies—Bryan, Eleanor, and Steve—stared at Pepe and his friends trying to intimidate them.

Steve broke the silence, “Hey, join us if you don’t want to be losers! That’s what the voices say. There’s still time before…”

“Before what?” asked Bernice.

“Before we break your noses!” Bryan laughed.

“Or, before you’re all alone and totally cut off from this world” Eleanor spoke.

“Let’s go!” Bryan commanded. “These three are not worth our time.”

The following day, Pepe, Bernice and Tom, decided to get together again. It was overcast and gray, but as long as it was not raining, they were ready to have some fun outside together.

While talking about their favorite foods, they heard Bryan’s threating voice, “What are you doing today, losers?”

“Oh no,” said Tom with a sigh. “Here they come again!”

As soon as they turned towards the gang, they were surprised at what they saw. Bryan and his buddies were all wearing dark glasses—sunglasses—in such an overcast day.

Pepe couldn’t contain himself so he asked before he could laugh, “Why are you all wearing dark glasses on such a cloudy and gray day as today?

“I’m losing my patience with you!” Bryan roared.

“Pepe! What’s wrong with you?” Eleanor spoke. “Haven’t you heard, losers? Wearing dark glasses, no matter what, is the way of today. We should all wear dark glasses all the time. Wearing dark glasses brings happiness and coolness to our lives, losers!”

Then Steve added, “Hey, join us if you don’t want to be losers! That’s what the voices say. There’s still time before…”

“I know, I know…” Bernice interrupted. “Before you either break our noses, or before we’re all alone and totally cut off from this world.”

“Yeah!” Bryan yelled.

“Let’s go to my house,” Tom spoke ignoring the three bullies. “Mom made delicious cookies today.”

And the three friends started walking towards Tom house, without looking back at the bullies though they knew that they were staring at them as they walked away. That is, if they were able to see with such dark glasses on such a dark day.

The following day, Pepe, Bernice and Tom, decided to get together again. It was such a beautiful sunny day that they couldn’t help but meet outside to play with a frisbee.

They were having such a fun time, when suddenly, the threatening and piercing voice of Bryan brought sadness and fear to their hearts.

“Hey losers, playing frisbee today, huh?” Bryan’s growling voice could be heard from far away.

As the bullies approached, Pepe turned to see what “coolness” they would be wearing, but when he saw them, his jaw dropped and he couldn’t speak. Was this real? It was insane! The three bullies were wearing their clothes backwards.

“Hahahaha!,” Pepe laughed without thinking. It was such a sight. Tom and Bernice turned to see what was making Pepe laugh, and they couldn’t help it either. They too started laughing out loud!

But the laughter didn’t last long. Bryan the bully silenced them with a terrifying yell, “Shut up!” Then he spoke with his most threatening voice, “Why are you playing frisbee today, losers?”

Pepe, even though he was a little scared, was also curious and puzzled so he had to ask, “Why are you all wearing your clothing backwards today?”

“I can’t believe that I have to repeat this!” Eleanor whined while rolling her eyes. “Don’t you know, losers, that wearing your clothing backwards is the way of today? We should all wear our cloths backwards all time. Wearing our clothing backwards brings happiness and coolness to our lives, losers!”

“It sounds silly to me!” Tom couldn’t help but to respond.

“Be careful what you say to us,” Steve said. “Hey, you know that you can join us if you don’t want to be losers! That’s what the voices say. There’s still time before…”

“Before you either break our noses, or before we’re all alone and totally cut off from this world.” Pepe, Bernice, and Tom said in unison, while at the same time they all started running towards Bernice’s home which was not too far away.

That night in his room, Pepe was thoughtful and worried. The ways of the world seem so foreign to him and too crazy too! A feeling of loneliness and heaviness swept into his heart.

Just then Jesus made himself visible and whispered to him, “My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me…” [John 10:27]. Then, the Father and Holy Spirit appeared alongside Him.

“Pepe,” the Father spoke, “you’ll never feel like you fit into this world because you belong to our Kingdom! So, you live in this world but that you are not of this world.”

Pepe looked puzzled.

“You are a citizen of the Kingdom of God and you are a precious son to the Father!” exclaimed the Holy Spirit cheerfully. “And this is thanks to the work that Jesus did on the cross for you and for anyone who will believe in Him, repent or turn away from the old ways, and obey Him.”

“And,” added the Father, “it’s not by chance that you’re here. You were made for this exact time in history and place in the world.”

“I was?” Pepe looked excited at the Three Musketeers.

“Pepe, many people will hate you because of me…” Jesus said sadly. “But don’t give up, be strong, and be assured that we’re with you. Think also of the hope that you have because you belong to the family of God, and of the time when you’ll join us in our Kingdom! It’s going to be beyond any joy you can ever imagine! No more tears! No more sadness! No more confusion! No more bullies!”

Pepe looked at Jesus in the eyes.

“In the meantime,” Jesus continued, “show our Kingdom with words and actions, and do that to anyone that we send your way…and this includes the bullies you encountered in the last three days. Pray for them. Love them and show them our love for them too. They are lost sheep.

“It’s hard,” Pepe mumbled, “especially when there’s so much pressure from others or when I could get hurt.”

The Holy Spirit then filled Pepe with a tremendous sense of peace and strength, and it was so much so that Pepe immediately felt encouraged. A sense of mission for the Kingdom of God took over him.

Pepe then jumped out of bed with joy, and started changing his pajamas for his regular clothes…

With a smile on their faces, the three Musketeers asked in unison—even though they knew the answer, “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to conquer the world now!” Pepe managed to say between breaths as he dressed.

“Slow down, slow down…” the Father said tenderly. “That task can wait for tomorrow morning. Right now, it seems that you need a well-deserved rest and sleep.”

The Three Musketeers blew him a kiss and vanished from sight for the time being.

Related Bible quotes:
Ephesians 2:1-2
Philippians 3:20
John 18:36