FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “B|Family”

Supplies: Bible; the family pet (optional)

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I think pets are fantastic.  I admit, I miss having the companionship and joy offered by a four-legged friend in the house.  Of course, I don’t miss the extra work and expense.  If you have a family pet, take a minute and think about all the things necessary to take care of it.  (If you don’t have a pet in your home, have your children guess based on what they know.)  The list can get kind of long, right?  Food, water, doctor visits, medicine and shots, beds, cages, leashes, toys…and that’s just the stuff that costs money.  They also need a lot of love and attention.  

What about taking care of a person?  What does it take to take care of people instead of pets?  Some of the items on the list are the same.  When your parents brought you home, they knew they needed to give you food and water, and I’m guessing you have a decent stash of toys.  But what else do you need to do to take care of someone?  What’s different about caring for a friend or family member than caring for a pet?

READ

Take a look at Romans 16.  Have someone read verses 1-16.  Don’t worry about the names—just do your best. :)

THINK

This is how Paul closes his letter to the church in Rome.  It’s basically a bunch of shout-out’s to people he knows there in that church.  Of course, as you read his comments, you realize that these aren’t just acquaintances.  Look at his words: “whom I love in the Lord,” “my relative,” “my dear friend,” “a mother to me.”  These are special, treasured people in his life.  We don’t know any of these folks, but in these verses we do get a great sense of the love and care that can be found in the family of God.  

When we are adopted by our loving Father, we become a part of a ginormous family.  That means we have love shared with us as we are cared for.  That also means we have love to share with others around us.  Being a good neighbor means caring for the people around us.  Our friends at school.  The people on our street.  Folks at work.  Teammates out on the field.  Everyone has needs.  Everyone has good days when they need someone to celebrate with.  Everyone has bad days when they need a shoulder to cry on.  Everyone needs love and encouragement, and God has chosen you to care for the people around you.

APPLY

Who are you caring for?  Are there people in your life that you are already loving on and encouraging?  Share those names with your family.  Who else do you think God may be calling you to care for?  Share some ideas about what you can do as a family to care for people around you.  Now make a plan to put those ideas into action.  Ready, set, CARE!

PRAY

Dear God, thank you for making us a part of your family.  Help us to love others like brothers and sisters by offering them the love and care that you give us every day.  Open our eyes to see the needs around us and give us the impulse to respond. In Jesus’ Name we pray.  Amen

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.