Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays because it is all about love. It is not just about the mushy smoochy romantic kind of love, but all kinds of love! It is a great time to take a minute to reflect on all of the wonderful people in your life and give thanks for them. Have you noticed that sometimes, we forget to show love to the people in our lives that matter the very most? We overlook saying kind words to our children or offering compliments to our spouse. We spend time helping neighbors or reading articles online and don’t have time to play or chat with our kids. It is a hard balance! This Family Night activity will help you teach your family how to love like Jesus did. Follow His example to bring more meaningful love into your family and other relationships. Jesus showed love in several different ways. Study his methods and then make goals to apply them in your own life.
Showing love is one of the best things we can do to make our home a happy place!
Love Like Jesus – Adelle is sharing a Valentine-inspired Family Night idea today. Get the details below!
Lesson:
One thing we know about Jesus is that He loves us. He loves every single person on the Earth! He cares about what we do and how we feel. He wants us to be happy and successful. There are many stories in the Bible that demonstrate this divine love. Read through the following stories and examples from the Bible and talk about them together. They are separated into three categories of ways that we can show love. We can follow Christ’s example of showing love and increase the happiness, peace, and love in our homes.
Showing Love Through Service
Jesus spent the majority of His adult life serving the people in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. He healed the sick (Matthew Chapter 8), fed the multitudes (Matthew Chapter 14: 14-21), stood up for a woman who was about to be stoned (St John Chapter 8:1-11), gave sight to the blind (St John 9:1-), washed the 12 Disciples feet (St John 13:4-10) and so much more.
Though all of these actions, Jesus demonstrated that he loved the people. He used His talents and gifts to bless the lives of others. We can do that too!
Ask the Question: What talents do you have that you could use to help others? How can you show love through service?
Showing Love Through Words
Remember the expression, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me?” It is far from the truth. Word are powerful. They can hurt or they can uplift. Using words in a positive way can really help make someone feel special and loved.
Jesus wanted his disciples to know that he would never leave them alone when He said, “I am with you always, even until the end of time.” (Matthew 28:20)
In John 14:26 he gave comfort saying, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Jesus also spoke his love plainly and freely when he said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)
Another beautiful quote is from John 15:9, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” There is no doubt that Jesus loves us. He said it over and over again with his words.
When Christ spoke to his people he did it with love and respect. He was positive, encouraging, and uplifting. He gave people hope. We can also use words to be an influence for good and to show our love. When we love somebody, it is so important to tell them!
Ask the Question: Can you remember a time when someone said something to you that made you feel happy or good inside? Share that experience with the family. Do you remember a specific compliment that you have been given? How did it make you feel? Do words of affection and kindness make your love for a person increase?
Showing Love Through Time
When Jesus was on the earth, He spent time with His followers. He asked the disciples to tarry with Him (Matthew 26:38). He told people to, “Come follow me.” He talked with them and taught them individually. Jesus asked for the little children to come to him. He surrounded himself with the small children to teach them and to bless them. (Matthew 19:14) Christ showed through example that to love someone you need to spend time with them. When you spend time with a person, you get to know them. You learn their thoughts. You become friends and your love for each other increases.
Christ asked his friend Peter, “Shall ye also go away?” And Peter responded, “To whom shall I go?” They had spent enough time together that Peter knew that Jesus was the Son of God. They were bound together in purpose. We can also be bound together as a family when we spend quality time together.
Ask the Question: What is your favorite thing we do together as a family?
We can follow the example of Jesus and show love to our family and friends through our actions, words, and time.
Activity: Cut paper hearts out of cute paper. Make sure to cute enough for each person in your family to have at least three hearts.
Label the hearts with the three categories of love on them: Time, Words, Service. Then, write a goal or activity on the heart that you could do that week to show love in that specific category.
For example, to show love through time, Sister could read a story to Brother before bed. To show love through service, Sister could help mom make dinner three nights that week. To show love through words, Sister could give one nice compliment per day to her friends at school.
Hang the hearts up on a door or wall in your house when the tasks have been completed over the course of the week. Watch a visual representation of the love in your house grow with each additional heart that is added to the wall. Hopefully, you will feel the increase as well!
I wish your family a very Happy Valentine’s Day. Enjoy the love you feel for each other at this special time of the year and always remember that Jesus loves you and cares about you too.
For more posts like this one, check these out:
Valentine Activities for Preschoolers
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