The Demonstration

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:9-11

“Guess what?” Grace bounded into the kitchen, followed by her friend Ava. “Ava and I volunteered to give a demonstration at the next youth club meeting.”

“That’s great,” said Mom. “What will you demonstrate?”

Both girls looked at her with a blank stare, and then burst into peals of laughter. “We didn’t even think about that,” said Ava. “It just sounded like fun to get up and give a demonstration!” All was quiet for a moment. Then Ava snapped her fingers. “I know. Let’s give a demonstration on flower arranging. My mom has a book that shows how to do it. I’m sure she’ll let us use it.”

“Good idea,” said Grace, so the girls went to Ava’s house and spent the afternoon studying pictures and instructions and practicing arranging flowers.

Finally, they returned to Grace’s house to show her mom a bouquet they had made. “This is the kind of arrangement we plan to demonstrate,” said Ava.

“Beautiful!” Mom exclaimed. “That’s really lovely.”

“We have three weeks to practice and get our speech ready,” said Grace. She held up the bouquet. “We want to give this to Ava’s aunt. She just had surgery and can’t even get out of bed. Can I go visit her with Ava tomorrow morning?”

“Sure,” said Mom, and the next morning the girls took the flowers to the hospital and spent an hour talking with Ava’s aunt.

“How did your demonstration go?” Mom asked when Grace returned home.

“We won’t be doing that for a few weeks yet,” Grace said, surprised her mother had forgotten. “Today we just took the flowers to Ava’s aunt.”

Mom smiled. “I know you did, and that’s the demonstration I’m talking about. You girls demonstrated something far more important than flower arranging.”

“We did?” said Grace.

“A lot of people talk about God’s love, but you and Ava demonstrated it by your thoughtfulness,” Mom explained, giving Grace a hug. “The flowers you arranged are beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as the love you showed by giving them to Ava’s aunt and spending time with her. Your actions demonstrate that Jesus is working in your life to help you love and care for others the way He does.”

Grace’s face slowly broke into a huge smile.

-Barbara J. Westberg

How About You?

Do your actions show God’s love to others? Are you friendly and kind to other kids? Do you help out whenever you can? Do you put others ahead of your own plans and wishes? We need to tell others about Jesus and His love for us, but we also need to show it through our actions. So let others see Jesus in you. Demonstrate God’s love to someone today.

Today’s Key Verse:
1 John 3:18 (NLT) Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Today’s Key Thought:

Demonstrate God’s love