Daily Devotional

Love must be shown through our actions and not just our words. How many times in your life has someone said to you, “I love you”, but then treated you like dirt? Or said, “I love you”, then talked negatively about you? Or said “I love you”, then had no time for you?

So often we are stressed-out at work or at home. But when our relationships with family and friends are healthy, we feel less stressed. The best way to keep relationships healthy is to emphasize love. How do we do that? By being available to spend time with the ones we love.

One time I heard a teacher say, “Love is spelled T-I-M-E”. 1 John 3:18 says “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

When you are talking with someone you love, what do you want most from them? Their attention. If I love you, I want you to listen to me. What that means is, I want you to look into my eyes while I’m speaking. I want to listen to you while you’re speaking. I want to connect with you on a deeper level. I want to know what’s going on in your life spiritually. I want you! The greatest way to show love to another person is to give them your time, because your time is your life!
When I was younger, I loved spending time with my Grandpa and Grandma Erickson. They were retired, so they were always home. My parents worked, and often when I got home from school, they weren’t there. My grandparents were. I don’t fault my parents for that, they obviously had jobs, and that’s what paid the bills. But I wonder if that’s why I became so close to my grandparents. They were always home. They always had time for me, therefore I felt loved.

Time is a resource you control. You have to decide how you’re going to use it. You can choose to use your time well, or you can waste it. God has given us 24-hour days. God already knows how many days you’re going to live, and when those days are over, that’s it. You can make more money, but you cannot make more time. So when you give someone your time, you are giving them something very precious. You will never get those minutes back.

Some of you may not be giving enough time to the people you love. You may be under the same roof, but it seems like you’re always on your way somewhere. You have work and school, sports practices and games, rehearsals and performances, hobbies you love, and even church ministries demanding your time. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these activities, but too many of them can be detrimental to the relationships in your life. You get to the point where you have a ‘home life’ and an ‘away from home life’, and if you’re not careful, you will start to feel closer to the people you spend time with when you’re ‘away from home’, because love is spelled T-I-M-E.

Some of you may wonder, “How can I be more loving towards my family and friends?” Find time for them. Turn off the TV and computer. Silence your phone and put it on the charger in another room. When you’re with your family and friends, talk to each other, listen to each other.
If you’re like “What should we talk about?” I’ve got a great game to recommend. It’s called “Table Time”. You draw a card from the front, and then that’s the question you answer, no passing. Some of the questions are “What do you love about your hometown?” “If you could appear on any game show, which would you choose?” “What’s the most beautiful drive you’ve ever taken?”

Here’s a link to purchase the game, if you’re interested.

Table Topics Original Game

If you eat dinner together as a family, during dinner have one family member pick a card and ask the question. Then go around and have everyone answer it. If having dinner together is tough at this stage of your life, then set-up a different time to play the game. Make sure it’s uninterrupted time. No phones, TV, or computers. And whoever is talking, everyone else is looking into their eyes. And no interrupting. This will be time well spent, showing love to those who are closest to you.

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation