Love: 1 John 4:19

We love because He first loved us.

1 John 4:19

One day I popped the boys in the car and we headed to the market to get dinner for some family friends who were sick. We piled flowers, popsicles, soup, and some muffins into our cart and popped cards into the grocery bag that we left on the front steps. I was trying to find a tangible way put our weekly Bible verse into action. I was trying to teach my boys what acting in love looked like beyond a hug or phrase.

You know what, that tangible act of dropping dinner off, it worked! Months later and my  boys still get excited if a friend gets sick. They immediately want to head to the market to get food and make cards. It is a repetitive action that may end up putting a hole in my wallet but I never want to miss an opportunity to teach my kids how to love their neighbors, how to care for the sick, how to show Christ love to others. How I actively showed love to my community rubbed off on my kids and not only that, it was a lesson that they are going to carry with them. A little tangible application of the scripture had a lasting impact on the hearts of my sons and now my sons are daily challenging me to show God's love. They did not let it become a weeks lesson but have made it a life goal that now motivates me to keep on loving others.

Dear God, may I always have a childlike eagerness to show love to others. May I never miss an opportunity to love because you love me. I pray, Father, that you would continue to grow in the hearts of my children and myself a deep desire to serve others, to walk alongside them, and to be your hands and feet in this world. Thank you for loving me and my children.

Amen.