Today our family devotional was based on our church’s reading plan through the New Testament. We focused on a verse in the book of Acts where Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders and he quotes Jesus. (If you want to read a brief article about this quote, which is present here in Acts but is not quoted in any of the gospels, check out this link.)
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Acts 20:35
Tyler opened up the family devotional by asking when was the last time we gave to someone: what was the situation? How did it feel once we gave to that person? How did they react when we gave to them, and so on. We read the verse and talked about how God calls us to give – but we also are blessed tremendously by the act of giving. It’s a gift from God that it brings us joy to bring others joy.
At the end of the devotional, we discussed how we could give to others. Finn decided to go through his toys and set aside some of them to give to children who don’t have any. We also decided as a family to bring a meal to another family. I’m really grateful for Tyler’s leadership here because we didn’t just talk about doing these things and then never actually do them – we did them that same day, as a family. It was wonderful.
It really is more blessed to give than to receive. And ultimately, God is the greatest Giver of all time and we live continually in that blessing.
What about you: is there a time recently you’ve given to someone else? What was that experience like for you?
Also, feel free to download the free printable for this family devotional below!
If you’re looking for more ideas for family devotionals, this is what we use! Check them out in my Etsy shop.
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