Christian Says

Bible Reading: 1 John 3:16-18

“To start our game, I will be Simon,” said Miss Elwood, Kennedy’s teacher. “And remember, you must always do what Simon says, not what Simon does.”

All right! thought Kennedy. I’m going to be really careful this time.

“Simon says, ‘Thumbs up,’” called Miss Elwood, turning her thumbs up. Kennedy and her classmates did the same. “Simon says, ‘Step forward.’” As Miss Elwood spoke, she stepped forward. The kids followed her example. “Simon says, ‘Snap your fingers.’” But Miss Elwood clapped her hands instead—and before Kennedy could stop herself, she clapped her hands too.

“Oops! I goofed!” Kennedy grinned and sank to her seat. She was out.

That evening, Kennedy’s family sat down to do devotions together. “Today’s verse is First John 3:18,” said Dad. “It says, ‘Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.’ Do you know what that verse means?”

“I know,” said Kennedy’s brother Tatum. “It means we shouldn’t just say we love God or people. What we do should go along with what we say.”

“Right,” said Dad. “If Jesus has changed our hearts, it should show in both what we say and what we do.”

Kennedy laughed. “Simon should learn this verse,” she said. “At school when we play Simon Says, I always goof if the person who’s Simon says one thing but does another.”

“That brings up a good point,” said Dad. “Sometimes we may act as though we’re playing a game like that—maybe it could be called Christian Says. Sometimes Christians say one thing and do another. Can you think of examples of that from your own life? I’ll start. Christian says, ‘Love your neighbor,’ and then I act in my own self-interest.”

“Christian says, ‘Love your enemies,’ and then I spread rumors about a coworker who’s been treating me poorly,” offered Mom.

“Christian says, ‘Share with others,’ and then I don’t let my friends touch my things,” said Tatum.

Kennedy found this interesting and wanted to add something too. “Umm…Christian says, ‘Be helpful,’ and then I sneak out of doing the dishes.”

“You’ve got the idea,” Mom said. “Let’s trust Jesus to help us make sure our actions match our words.”

-Hazel W. Marett

How About You?

Do you play Christian Says? You can probably think of times when you said one thing and did another. But Jesus doesn’t play that game. He tells us He loves us in the Bible, and He showed it by dying on the cross for our sin so we could be His children. His actions match His words. That’s how we should love others too. Trust Jesus to help you show others His love in both what you say and what you do.

Today’s Key Verse: 1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Actions should match words