Day 1: Your Kids Need (The Right Kind Of) Love.

The Agape Love That Changes Everything

From the time we first hold our children in our arms, we are teaching them what love is. We show our babies love by keeping them safe, fed, and warm. Until they are old enough to understand the God of the Bible, parents are a representation of God’s love for them.

This love of a parent for a child is a God-given, natural love. The Greeks, who have different names for the various kinds of love, call this “storge” love. It is an affectionate, familial love. This is a great start!

But it’s not all there is. Even on our best day, the love we show our children will be imperfect. Because we are sinners living in a fallen world, we cannot give our kids the kind of love they were made for.

What our kids really need (what we all need!) is God's unconditional love, which was ultimately demonstrated through the actions of His Son. It was God’s love for us that compelled Him to send Jesus to this earth to live a perfect life and die a death He didn’t deserve so that we could know what true love is.

This unconditional love is what the Greeks call “agape.” This is the love that your child needs most. And the good news is that you are the best person to introduce your child to this agape love. God has given us parents the great privilege and responsibility of teaching our kids about this love from His Word. (See Deuteronomy 6.) And then your kids need to see God’s love demonstrated through your words and actions.

None of us will do this perfectly, but even in our imperfections, we can demonstrate our need for a Savior. In fact, perhaps the most powerful way of modeling faith to our kids is by living a humble life of repentance and dependence on God. When your kids see how much you need God, when they see you turn to God when you mess up, need help, or are seeking direction, they will be more likely to do the same.

Friend: in this devotional, we will cover five of the things your child needs most. But there is no comparison between today’s topic and all the others. More than anything, your child needs God’s love. And you cannot give what you do not have.

So today, I encourage you to turn your heart to God to receive His love afresh. Give Him your burdens and your sins and anything else that is weighing on you. Receive His forgiveness and grace and His agape love. Then, ask for His help in extending that same love to your child. His supply never runs out!

FURTHER READING: 1 JOHN 3

Prayer: God, thank you for your agape love. Thank you for paying the ultimate price to demonstrate your love for me. I want to receive your love afresh today, and I pray that you would help me to love my child(ren) well. Please open my child(ren)’s heart(s) to your love. And let me teach them and show them the love you have shown me! Amen.