Love One Another

"Be ye kind, one to another; be ye kind one to another; be ye kind, one to another - Ephesians 4:32." We sang our hearts out during Bible time, then we each told something we could do that day to be kind to each other. Linsey was especially thoughtful, "I can do something with Hannah that she wants to do, even if I don't want to."

I was excited to see how this played out during our day, and several times as I reminded the girls to "be kind," it actually seemed to be working!  That afternoon, though, Hannah really wanted to play something Linsey thought was 'babyish.' When I heard them arguing, I pulled Linsey aside and reminded her of the lesson we'd had earlier. "You said you would be kind to Hannah by doing something she wanted to do, and now's your chance."

"But Mama," she cried, "I didn't really mean it!"


To her credit, she soon relented and played with her sister, but her honesty got me thinking. I'm often  convicted when I read the Bible or hear a sermon, and I vow to do better. But when it's time to act on that conviction, maybe by getting up earlier to read the Bible or biting my tongue when criticized, I groan inside, "But I didn't really mean it, God!"


Even worse, I excuse myself by reasoning that if God wanted this, He would magically make me a morning person, or take away my bad temper. But it doesn't work like like that. Philippians 4:13 says God gives us strength to do His will, but we still have to put forth the "get up and do it." This week, let's determine not only to desire change, but also to implement it in our daily lives.