SEPTEMBER: JESUS SHOWED EVERYONE GOD'S LOVE IN ACTION
Concept:
Jesus showed us what was most important: love! Love God, love ourselves, love others. Loving God, ourselves and others makes a difference every day, in everything we do. We have lots of stories in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John about Jesus showing us God’s love in action. Sometimes he showed love through noticing people and caring for them, telling stories, and interpreting scripture.
Sometimes he showed love through feeding people, or healing them, or calling them out when they’d done something wrong. He showed love for God by noticing and caring for creation. He showed love for himself when he took some alone time. Jesus said that all of God’s instructions could be understood and lived out by loving God, self and others.
(Photo by Amonwat Dumkrut on Unsplash)
Jesus showed us what was most important: love! Love God, love ourselves, love others. Loving God, ourselves and others makes a difference every day, in everything we do. We have lots of stories in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John about Jesus showing us God’s love in action. Sometimes he showed love through noticing people and caring for them, telling stories, and interpreting scripture.
Sometimes he showed love through feeding people, or healing them, or calling them out when they’d done something wrong. He showed love for God by noticing and caring for creation. He showed love for himself when he took some alone time. Jesus said that all of God’s instructions could be understood and lived out by loving God, self and others.
(Photo by Amonwat Dumkrut on Unsplash)
Read It: Matthew 22: 36-40 (Shine On pg 223; The Peace Table pg 231)
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Pray It: God, sometimes there are so many rules to remember! It gets confusing. Thank you for helping us know what the most important thing is. Help us love you, love ourselves, and love each other. Amen.
Do It:
Recite the Story:
- Read more of the story: From Shine On pp 187-245 and The Peace Table pp 204-257, read stories of Jesus showing us the way of love. Read one per night for the month!
- Artistic Representation: Choose one of the stories of Jesus showing the way of love. Using whatever artistic media you like, create your own depiction of that story. Or - create a collage of God’s way of love, taking inspiration from these stories in the Bible and from the way you see people showing God’s love in the world around you. This collage could be a month-long project, something you add to each day.
- Daily Detectives of God’s Love in Action: Each evening, let each member of the household name a moment from the day when they noticed God’s love. It might be something they observed in someone else (“Someone on the playground fell down, and I saw someone else help them up”), or in themselves (“I wanted to make fun of my friend, but then I stopped myself because that wouldn’t show God’s love”), or a way they felt God loving them (“The fresh apple I ate today tasted like God’s love”). If your child isn’t yet verbal, this practice can still be a good idea. You’re modeling a reflective practice, and they’ll pick up more than you think! Plus, these kinds of practices can work in us and help us be better caregivers. (Photo by Land O'Lakes. inc on Unsplash)
- Memorize the Greatest Commandment: Every morning or evening, say this scripture together. Motions can be really helpful for little ones. This is the first scripture passage our children memorized, and I remember each of them “saying” it before they could even pronounce the words. Now that they are 13 and 16, I see the ways that this scripture continues to work in their hearts and inform the decisions they make every day. Here’s an idea of how to say this scripture:
- To get it started, one person asks, “What’s the greatest commandment?”
- Love (arms crossed on chest) God (point up) with all (arms out wide) your heart (hands on heart), with all (arms wide) your soul (cup hands together), with all (arms wide) your strength (make arms into muscles) and with all (arms wide) your mind (point to head).
Recite the Story:
- God created, and it was good.
- God called a family to be a blessing to all the earth.
- God saved the people and they became a shalom community.
- God's steadfast love showed the people the way in a new land.
- God spoke through prophets when kings missed the mark.
- God gave hope when the people had to leave their homes and families.
- God’s love was born, a baby Messiah named Jesus.
- Jesus invited people on an adventure.
- Jesus showed everyone God’s love in action.
Additional Notes and Resources:
We often think of grand gestures as the way one shows love. However, in reality, showing love is the accumulation of many small gestures that we build into our everyday lives and let them become our habits. These are some suggestions for ways to incorporate expressions of love into our everyday lives. (Photo by Aron Weerakoonon Unsplash)
We often think of grand gestures as the way one shows love. However, in reality, showing love is the accumulation of many small gestures that we build into our everyday lives and let them become our habits. These are some suggestions for ways to incorporate expressions of love into our everyday lives. (Photo by Aron Weerakoonon Unsplash)
