Through this Christmas season at LSA, we are looking at the word “love”. The Bible has 4 different meanings for that word, and this week we’re concentrating on the Greek word “storge”, love for family. Our devotions from now and until Christmas will concentrate on those meanings for love. Wendy Reaume will also be sharing devotions with us about the names of God as we try to comprehend how wonderful God is.
Deuteronmy 6: 4 – 9 NLT
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
These verses impressed me years ago when I was a young mom. I realized that Jesus thought they were important too. When asked what was the most important thing, Jesus replied: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” (Matthew 22: 37)
But what really struck me were the instructions about teaching our children. As a parent who is a Christ follower and wants my family to love him too, how do we help our children to love God wholeheartedly?
Read those verses again. They instruct us to talk about God all day long – at home, on the road, at bedtime, and in the morning. We also need reminders of God in our homes that our family will notice. That is a huge challenge. It’s a wonderful way we can show our families how much we love them by introducing them to a God who whose love for us is beyond comprehenson.
Christmas season is here. All we have to do is go the store, the mall, or drive down the streets at night – decorations are everywhere. If there ever is a time when God can become a focus, Christmas offers it, even though our culture focuses on so many things other than Christ’s birth. But it is there in the shadows. You do see nativity scenes here and there.
So, here are some ideas to help you bring God’s Christmas story to your family:
Place a nativity set in a well used place in your home. If you have young children, find one that can be played without getting broken. It’s interesting to listen to what the children say as they play with the figures. Occasionally, you can add some facts here and there as they play.
There are lots of books and even colouring books that have the birth of Jesus as their focus. You might find nativity craft sets for older chilren. Christianbook.com has good selections, and they deliver in Canada.
Set aside a time on a daily (or a few times a week) basis – perhaps after supper or at bedtime – to read through the Christmas story. If you have pre-teens or teenagers, Read the story from the Bible and concentrate on how you would react if you were one of the characters in the story. There are so many incredible details in the account. For example, you discover your aunt who is say 75 years of age is expecting a baby. What would you think? (Elizabeth giving birth to John). Or if you were a shepherd in a dark field sitting around a campfire and suddenly the sky lit up with angels singing. What would you think/do? How would your react if the government decided to kill all baby boys under 2 of a particular group of people?
RightNow Media has many Christmas films to watch on a night with family. Email [email protected] if you aren’t already hooked up to that site.
This Christmas, talk with your family and figure out a way you can bring God’s love for us into your celebrations. If you have some ideas that have worked in your family, let us know in a comment on this devotion.
Our song for today is Miracle of Love by Chris Tomlin.