Bible Verse
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We often save our best behavior for people we barely know. The cashier at the store gets our smile and patience, while our family members get our stress and frustration. There's something backwards about giving our leftovers to the people who matter most. This happens because we take our closest relationships for granted, thinking they'll always be there no matter how we treat them. Today, we're going to pray about this pattern and ask God to help us see our homes as the most important place to show His love.
Short Devotional
Jesus taught His followers that love would be the sign that showed the world they belonged to Him. But it's easy to love people we don't live with every day. The real test of our hearts shows up at the dinner table, during bedtime routines, and in everyday conversations with our family. When we snap at our spouse over small things or lose patience with our children, we're revealing something important about our relationship with God.
The truth is hard to hear: how we treat the people in our homes shows what we really believe about God's love. When we give strangers our kindness but save our worst moods for family, we're showing that we don't fully trust God's love for us. If we truly understood that God loves us completely—even on our worst days—we wouldn't need to protect ourselves by being harsh with those closest to us. Our homes would become places where God's love overflows, not where it gets stored away.
Let's Pray
Heavenly Father,
I come to You knowing that You see everything—including how I act when no one else is watching. You know the way I speak to my family when I'm tired, stressed, or frustrated.
I confess that I often give my best behavior to strangers while my loved ones get what's left over. Forgive me for taking the people closest to me for granted.
Help me understand that loving my family well is not just about being a good person—it's about truly knowing You. Your Word says that whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
I want to know You more deeply, Lord. I want Your love to fill me so completely that it overflows naturally to the people who share my daily life.
Change my heart, Father. When I'm tempted to be impatient with my spouse, remind me of Your patience with me. When I want to snap at my children, help me remember how gently You speak to me.
Give me the strength to apologize quickly when I fail and the wisdom to see my home as the most important place to practice Your love.
I trust that You are working in me, making me more loving each day. Thank You for Your grace that covers my failures and Your Spirit that empowers me to love better tomorrow than I did today.
In Jesus' mighty name,
Amen.
Journaling Prompts
How do you think your family members would describe the way you treat them compared to how you treat people outside your home?
What fears or insecurities cause you to be harder on the people closest to you than on strangers?
Imagine Jesus sitting at your dinner table tonight. How would His presence change the way you speak and act with your family?
God wants to transform our homes into places where His love lives and grows. The people who share our everyday lives deserve to see the best of who we are becoming in Christ, not the worst of who we used to be. As we learn to receive God's perfect love more deeply, we'll find it easier to give that same love to our families. Keep praying and trusting that God is working in your heart and in your home.
Until next time,
May the Lord bless you and keep you;
May He make His face shine upon you;
And be gracious to you and give you peace.
God Bless!
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