Part 5: Showing God's Love to Others!

Because GOD IS LOVE, I know He loves me no matter what, and He helps me to love others as I love myself.

Key verse: 1 John 4:7-8

One day, Jesus told this story:

"A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

By chance a Jewish priest came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man. 'If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, 'I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.'"

"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?"

~Luke 10:30-36, Discover God Bible (NLT)

The answer, of course, is the third man, the Samaritan. He was a good neighbor by caring for someone in need. The Jewish priest was a very important man, and the Temple assistant was very smart and wise, but they did not stop to help the beaten man. They were not being good neighbors.

Being a good neighbor is one way that we can show God's love to others, but there are many more ways we can love!

The Bible says:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, not boastful, not proud and not rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

~1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Discover God Bible (NLT)

According to these verses, what is love? (underlined above) Which is most difficult for you?

I don't know about you, but loving others can be really tough sometimes! Thankfully, we don't have to rely on our own strength to love others!

The Bible says:

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love.

~1 John 4:7-8, Discover God Bible (NLT)

Isn't that encouraging? It is God's love in us that makes us want to love others! So where do we start?

Showing God's love to others can begin by showing His love in your own home with your own family! Here are some real life examples:

(NOTE: Each one of these five examples shows a specific expression of love, referred to by Dr. Gary Chapman as the Five Love Languages.

When Mom asked Meghan to help her brother clean up the blocks they played with, she also helped him clean up his whole room!

When Whitney's little sister played with Whitney's favorite toy without asking, Whitney spoke to her using kind words instead of angry words.

On her mom's birthday, Kate gave one of her own toys as a gift. She even drew a picture and made her own card to go with it.

Jackson sometimes eats lunch at school with his sister because he knows that she likes to spend time with him.

Alex wakes up every morning and gives her grandma a hug and a kiss. She knows that's Grandma's favorite part of the day!

What are some ways you can show love to those in your home?

Why does it matter?

Because God is Love, He helps me to love others! Loving others is a natural response to loving God. You can start by being patient and kind, by being polite and not being "me first", and by forgiving and thinking the best of each other!

Talk with God!

Talk to God and ask Him to help you think of ways to love others in your family. If you're having trouble loving others, go back and focus on loving God first. If you love God first, you can't help but look for ways to love others.

Action Point

Because God is Love, I will ________________________.

(Note: Fill in the blank by sharing a specific action point.)