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(The following is a family devotional guide with suggested questions and scriptures.)
Focus Verse: “Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” -Matthew 5:16
T-Talk About It Topic
Do you have the type of personality that likes to blend in or stand out? What are some things you don’t mind being different in that make you stand out? What type of situations is it easy to blend in?
A-Anchor To The Bible
It’s easy to look around us in our day-to-day lives or on Social Media and want to be the same as others. Being the same helps us stay under the radar and blend in. Being the same feels safe. And let’s be honest, being different doesn’t always feel good; it can feel awkward, insecure, or lonely. The funny thing is this: Jesus means for his believers to stand out in the way they live their lives. He used metaphors to show us HOW to stand out: be the light, be a city on a hill, and be the salt.
Jesus’s disciples knew this well – they were all different for following Him. But because there was 12 of them, they were still in a comfort zone having the same belief…that is, until Jesus taught them a powerful lesson about the power of being different, breaking free from their comfort zones, and being brave to follow him on a deeper level. You see, they all had just spent the say watching Jesus minister to thousands of people – they saw miracle after miracle. And at the end of the day, the people didn’t leave, so Jesus felt compelled to feed them. Taking 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, he fed up to 15,000 people! Afterwards, Jesus put his disciples on a boat, telling them he would meet them on the other side of the lake. But, during the night, a storm blew up. The same disciples who saw miracle after miracle were now afraid without Jesus and thought they might drown from the powerful waves. And when Jesus appeared to them, walking on water, they thought he was a ghost! Then, someone braved to be different than the rest: Peter asked Jesus to call him out onto the water…so Jesus did. Peter, keeping his eyes on Jesus, did something the others were afraid of doing: walking on the stormy waters. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was doing the impossible. Peter dared to be different. Peter took courage from Jesus and got out of his boat. Peter experienced Jesus Christ in a whole new way, all because he took a step of faith. Because of that, the power of Jesus Christ shone through him as an example to the other disciples, who were all still in the boat. They lost out on a life-changing opportunity…all because they were too afraid. Experiencing Jesus and His power all begins with a small step of faith. As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus, we too can do the impossible when we choose to be different and believe Jesus for more. And if we mess up and cave in to our fears, we can take comfort in knowing Jesus will rescue us and allow us to start back over with a small step of faith in the right direction.
L-Learn God’s Word
When there is darkness all around you, light will always stand out. That is what we are to be among our sphere of influence – a light! People are drawn to light, and through your words and actions, they should be drawn to the Jesus in you…that is why Matthew 5:16 is our focus verse!
K-Keep Each Other Accountable
Here are a few ideas to keep everyone in check with this week’s TALK:
Being the light sounds really good…but how can we be the light? What does that look like? Well, I am going to give you an acronym that will help you live out your relentless faith to others in your day-to-day life: Take AIM.
Authentic: Be authentic in your words and your actions with the people you encounter in your day-to-day lives. What does that mean? Jesus calls us to follow Him with our words and our actions. Just look at the way He treated people – with love, kindness, compassion, and respect. He didn’t act one way in front of a lot of people but differently with the disciples. He didn’t gossip with others. He was the same, no matter what setting he was in. That is authenticity.
So, be loving, king, compassionate, and respectful to those who come in you path each and every day – you never know how you can turn someone’s day around just with your authenticity.
Intentional: Be intentional to reach out to people – not just within your social circle. Look for opportunities to bless someone by living out your faith. Whether it’s someone sitting alone at the lunch table, walking alone down the hallways of your school, or sitting alone in the classroom not talking to others, there’s always someone you can reach out and be kind to, encourage, or offer to pray for. We will miss many doors of opportunity if we aren’t intentional to live out our faith!
Meaningful: Bring meaningful contact into your sphere of influence. Talk with others, look them in the eye, listen to what they are saying, send them a text, write them a good old-fashioned card, offer to pray with them, do an act of kindness for them – any small or big gesture to let them know you are thinking about them! This helps bring meaning to our relationships! When you are authentic with your words and actions and are intentional to look for opportunities to reach out to others, this helps bring meaning into those you encounter in your sphere of influence. This is “being the light”!