A New Command

Monday mornings are one of my favourite times of the week as I get to share with the children about God's love for them.  There is something simple about faith that children seem to walk quite comfortably in.  I wonder if it has something to do with their brain structures and the whimsical thinking they have as they rationalise their worlds, which simply leads them to believe and trust in things they don't necessarily know or see?  A jolly good Christmas fella comes to mind.

In our Whole Center Worship times, we have been exploring the command that Jesus gave his disciples as he awaited the betrayal of one of his dearest friends. 

John 13:  34 - "A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

A significant command given considering that Jesus was about to walk his final days as a man on earth, be crucified, and raised to life again.  A sacrifice of love that takes faith to comprehend.

On Mondays we have played around with using our voices to give expression to this command, enjoying the moments of hilarity, seriousness but comfort as we decided that when Jesus asks us to 'love one another' that He probably said this with a kind and gentle tone.  How important is the role of tone in our lives?  My mum was someone who always reminded me as a child and still to this today, that something can take on a completely different meaning based on how it is said.  I think she is right!

This week we read a book about how Jesus loves everybody even when their is 'ugliness' in the world.  I share this with you, as we asked the children to reflect on if they felt a situation brought love or ugliness into the world  (The may bring this language home and I wanted to clarify that this has nothing to do with body imagery).  We can sometimes see or hear things that don't feel right in our spirits, to the children we talk about it not feeling right in their bodies, and that it is ok to speak up about this with the help of others.

As we work through this with the children, each day we are seeking out moments where children are modelling love to each other through acts of service, words of encouragement, and or speaking up when something does not feel right.  It has been wonderful seeing this take some traction with many of the children and to see our 'Celebrating Kindness' wall grow.  I encourage you to come and read many of the encouragements that are written on the love hearts near the Big Mat in the Centre.

With the world needing a little more love in action these days, I pray that this command will rest in the hearts of our children.  Amen!