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Listen while you read: "The Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended"1
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John 15:17 – This is my command: Love each other. (NIV)
I have the pleasure of spending a great deal of time with my five-year-old grandson. He has a kind and loving nature and models for me quite regularly what it means for us to love each other.
One day, I accidentally damaged the mechanism for raising and lowering the drawbridge of his knight's castle. His response? "That's okay. Friends are more important." With those few words, he let me know that the people in his life are of far greater value to him than his precious knight's castle.
On another occasion, we were playing a bingo type of game for small children called "Zingo". I was hoping that he would win, because, in my experience, boys tend to be naturally competitive and can become upset when they lose. But much to my surprise, after he won the first game, he turned to me and said, "I hope you win the next game." Such generosity of spirit restores one's faith in humanity.
Another recent example was his offering of one of his cookies to me because I was his "sweetie" grandma. His words were sweeter than I'll ever be!
I don't know about you, but I often struggle with knowing what it means to comply with Christ's command to love each other. How can we possibly love everybody? How can we show constant love in our day-to-day lives? What my grandson says seems to me to be a good model because his direct and simple words clearly reflect loving-kindness. Our words can, too: heartfelt words of appreciation to a cashier, server, or delivery person; compassion, consideration, and affirmation in intimate conversations; terms of endearment.
I regularly see signs in stores, restaurants, and other public spaces thanking people for their patience and warning that offensive language and rudeness will not be tolerated. These signs became ubiquitous during the pandemic when everyone was in distress. The fact that these signs have not been taken down makes me think that simple and well-chosen words of loving-kindness in everyday interactions are needed now more than ever.
Let's pay attention to our words and the tone and manner in which we say them. In that way, we can obey Christ's command in small but important ways each and every day.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to find apt words to say to all those with whom we cross paths in our daily lives. You know how hard it is for us to show constant love — particularly in these troublesome times when there is fear, conflict, and a general decline of civility in our society. Guide us to discover new opportunities to show loving-kindness and a deeper understanding of how we can connect with each person we meet in a loving and meaningful way. Amen.
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About the author:
Helen Morrison <hmorriso@gmail.com>
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Send your feedback to the author
Beautiful words, Helen, and a great challenge.
Thank you very much for your beautiful devotional!
Hi Helen.
Loved your devotional today!
Enjoyed your words. Thank you.
(B.C.)
This is a beautiful Message.
Thank you for sharing.
I so much enjoyed your devotional today. Thank you for sharing with us all. By the way your city of Victoria is such a wonderful place to visit! May God’s blessings be with you.
Your grand-son is a wonderful example for all of us. Thanks for sharing.
Blessings and Peace,
(ON)
You and your grandson deserve each other! What lessons we can learn from a five-year-old! Many thanks for your practical lessons,
(BC)
What a lovely story about your grandson! It has always been my belief that children can be taught from an early age to be generous and loving and, of course, the best way is by example.
Hi Helen and thanks for sharing time with your young un. I appreciate my granddaughter in much the same way. As my wife asks her “Whose child are you?” Blessings and be well.
Hi Helen, Well written and a great reminder for all of us to love one another as we learn from our grandchildren. I wonder where they learned that Godly attitude — from Grandma?
God bless.
Helen
Your grandson is a treasure. His good nature will light up his life and bless his family and friends.
You must be very proud of him.
Thank you, Helen.
What a beautiful example your little grandson is! He must have wonderful examples to follow.
Thanks for your wonderful devotion.
Thank you for the encouragement.
You are blessed to have such a grandson in your life.
I expect his kindness may be through the example you set for his parent.
You reap what you sow.
Blessings.
Dear Helen,
I loved your devotional today. Are you a new writer, if so it was great and will look forward to more of your devotionals. Keep up the good work.
Blessing to you each and every day.
(ON., Canada)
Good morning, Helen, I very much enjoyed your devotional. It is true that God’s greatest commandment is simple, however, not easy to follow. I join with you in your prayer and definitely want to treat all who I come in contact with in a kind and loving way. Thanks for sharing how your grandson treats others. Wonderful. Blessings and prayers.
Many thanks Helen for this beautiful devotional sharing the sweet kindness of your little grandson. Truly sharing kind encouraging words with others in our daily lives is what the Lord would want us to do and the benefits of doing so are very beneficial in so many ways. In showing more kindness our whole world would become a safer more enjoyable place for sure. Blessings for your delightful and encouraging writing.
Good morning, Helen,
Your grandson sounds like a fantastic little one to be around. I struggle with my reactions to someone’s actions or words and then I want to kick myself for the tone I used or whatever. My prayer is for God to help me see others and things the way He does.
Thank you for this, big hugs for your grandson.
God bless.
What a wonderful, uplifting and encouraging devotional you’ve shared. Your grandson is a gem and obviously has had some amazing parenting in his formative years.
Thanks for reminding us to “pay attention to our words and the tone and manner in which we say them. In that way, we can obey Christ’s command in small but important ways each and every day.”
Thanks for blessing me today and many others, I’m sure!
Thank you for your gentle grandson who shows such amazing insight into human relationships. He must have wonderful ‘models’ surrounding him!!
I especially like your admonition to watch not only our choice of words, but also the tone we use. If we proceed with only an intellectual understanding of God’s ways, we can obediently choose the ‘right’ words, but deliver them with a tone that belies their intent. We need His Spirit to inhabit our hearts and minds – praise God for His Spirit who will indwell our lives and give us the guidance we all need. God bless.
Amen and amen! Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us!
Blessings.