Family Devotion

When you ask a couple who are about to become parents, if they would prefer a boy or a girl they may or may not state a preference. More than likely they will say they would be happy either way as long as the baby is healthy. This is all we want as parents, our deepest desire is for our children to grow up healthy and strong. We do everything in our power to aid in this endeavor. Once they are born we feed them the best foods we can, prevent them from ingesting things other than food (and as a mother of a toddler I know firsthand what a challenge this is), take them to the doctor, do activities to keep them active and a million other things that go along with raising a growing child.

Our Heavenly Father wants the exact same thing for us, His children. He wants us to grow and he has given us everything we need to grow in to the sons and daughters he is pleased to call his. We are the branches of the beautiful vine he sent us. And it is only by residing in that True Vine that we can do anything, including grow. In the 6^th I AM statement Jesus says,

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NLT)

How amazing to know all we need to do in order to grow in to healthy and strong Christians who produce amazing fruit is to simply remain in the True Vine.  We do this by deepening our relationship with Jesus by spending time in God’s word, praying and sharing that love for our Lord with others. Sharing our love for Jesus is one of the most important parts of the raising of healthy child. We do this so they can not only grow up physically healthy and strong but also grow up to be strong Christians who will one day share this same lesson of remaining in the Vine with their children.

Family Discussion:

1. Let's talk a little bit about "remaining in Jesus." That is not a phrase we use very often, so it wouldn't be strange if you couldn't really picture what Jesus was talking about right away. Some versions say, "Abide in," some say, "Live in," some say, "Dwell in…" Any ideas now that you've heard those words? (Spend time with; be together with; recognize Him as our constant Companion; follow Him; lean into Him when trouble comes; do what He encourages you to do.)
   
   
2. What kind of fruits does a healthy branch produce? (Fruits of the Spirit include: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control)
   
   
3. Spend some time drawing a picture that illustrates the Vine, Gardener, Branches, Fruit and Abiding. (Do your best, and give respect to one another as we share what we've drawn. Encourage each other!)
   
   

Family Activity:

Fruits of the Spirit Salad: Talk about the wonderful fruits we produce when we remain in the vine. Have the children memorize the fruits of the spirit with an edible activity. Purchase and wash nine different kinds of fruit. Designate each fruit as a particular fruit of the spirit. For example, oranges can mean self-control, strawberries can mean love, bananas can mean peace and so on. Cut up and place the fruits individually in small bowls and label each bowl with its corresponding fruit of the spirit. Have the children help dump the contents of each smaller bowl into one larger bowl. Mix all the fruits together, reminding the children that all the fruits of the spirits should work together for the good of everyone. Serve the fruit salad on small plates to "share" the fruits of the spirit with each other.

Nikki Wheatley
Elementary Ministries Director