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The Love of Christ
As Christians, we’ve been called to imitate Christ—to live like him (1 John 2:6). Indeed, that’s what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We don’t just know about him, believe in him, and love him; we live like him too. Not his divine nature but his perfect human nature. Jesus provides the pattern of what it means to be fully and wonderfully human. And even more, he gives us the capacity to live that out in increasing measure. This is true for us and our kids. Indeed, this should be the focus of our family discipleship.
But how do we do this? How do we teach our kids to act like Jesus when that seems so lofty and ambiguous? The key to eating an elephant is taking one bite at a time; that’s also how we disciple. We teach a character trait at a time, showing how Jesus demonstrates it and how our kids can too.
Perhaps the best place to start is with the trait many people think of first when they think of Jesus: love. God is love (1 John 4:8) and Jesus is God (John 1:1), so Jesus is love. That’s easy to see as we read through the Gospels. Jesus clearly loved people—even the unlovable and those who didn’t love him. That’s the love our kids are to imitate.
Our world today sure seems to lack love, doesn’t it? Anger, division, and strife are all around us. What’s worse, apathy—simply not caring about others—seems to be on the rise. Think for a minute about how Jesus might have engaged others if he had come today rather than two thousand years ago. How would he post on social media? How would he be as a student? How would he be at sporting events?
Here’s the big takeaway: We don’t have to imagine. Whatever we imagined is how we and our kids are supposed to live: loving others sacrificially, boldly, and even scandalously with the love of Christ in all these ways and more. Our kids are to participate in social media in love. Engage at school in love. Play or watch sports in love. Every single thing they do, they are to do in love. Imagine the difference they can make within a culture that seems devoid of love. Even the smallest light can be blinding when it pierces the darkness.
- What draws you to the love of Christ?
- How might you help your kid(s) imitate Christ’s love today?
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As caregivers, we’ve been called to teach our kids who Jesus is and how they can trust in him to be forgiven of their sins. But our calling doesn’t end there. We also are to teach them how to live like Jesus. This reading plan identifies seven core character traits of Christ you can point your kids toward to help them act like Jesus—to imitate him in daily life.
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