Roses Are Red

Read: James 2:14-17; 1 John 3:18

Sebastian was so focused on coloring the big red heart that he didn’t hear his dad come into his room. Dad stood behind him and read the poem written on the card Sebastian was making out loud. “‘Roses are red, the snow is white…you light up my life like a big headlight.’” Dad grinned. “You certainly have a way with words, son. I’m guessing this Valentine isn’t for your mom.”

Sebastian looked up from his coloring. “It’s for a girl in my class. It took me two weeks to come up with that. Do you think she’ll like it?”

“I think every girl likes to hear kind words. What else are you planning to do for her for Valentine’s Day?”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t planning on doing anything. I was just going to wow her with words.”

Dad smiled. “Your words are a great start, but you need to do something to back up what you say. Offer to clean the hamster cage when it’s her turn. Or change your poem to ‘A rosy, red rose, a white snowflake…you warm my heart like a cookie that’s baked,’ and make her a batch of cookies. Do something to prove your words have meaning.”

“Did Grandpa give you this advice when you were my age?” Sebastian asked.

“Believe it or not, I got this from the Bible.”

Sebastian laughed. “I don’t think the Bible talks about baking cookies.”

“No, but it does talk about backing up our words with action. It tells us to show the truth of our love not only through what we say, but what we do. Think of it like this. The Bible says that God loved the world and that He gave His only Son, Jesus. God doesn’t just say He loves us. He backs it up with action. And we need to do more than just say nice things to people. We need to do things that show them we care—not just on Valentine’s Day, but every day.”

Sebastian pulled a fresh piece of paper from his desk drawer.

“What are you doing now?” Dad asked.

“Tell me that poem about baking cookies again,” said Sebastian. “I want to remake this card and then go put a batch of cookies in the oven.”

–Jared Hottenstein

How about you? Do you say kind words to people and tell them you care about them? That’s great, but don’t forget to back up the truth of your words with action. God wants us to build others up with our words, but He also wants us to live out our faith in what we do as well as what we say. Love others like Jesus by letting them know you care through both your words and your actions.

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

Today's Key Thought: Live out love