Love is Caught, Not Taught

As children's ministry leaders, we often find ourselves teaching about love—explaining what it is to children, why it's important, and how it should be expressed. In fact, the word love appears in the Bible over 550 times! (In NIV and ESV) But the truth is, love is not something that can merely be taught; it must be caught. Children can’t truly understand love by merely hearing about it. But they can grasp its meaning when they experience it firsthand. The book of James reminds us that faith without deeds is useless. He uses the example of someone who sees someone hungry and simply says, "Be warm and well fed," but if they do nothing, they have not shown love at all (James 2:15-17). Similarly, if we talk about love without demonstrating it, our words are hollow.

There are kids in our ministries that need love – some extra doses! James goes on to say, "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them" (James 4:17). We are commanded to love the children in our care – and we must not neglect to do so! Love is more than just a concept to discuss; it's an action to perform. We can talk about sin, grace, and love until we are blue in the face, but children won't truly understand love until they see it, feel it, and experience it from us.

Imagine love as a little red ball. We could spend hours describing its color, size, and shape, but it would mean nothing to a child. However, show them the ball! They will get excited! Even better, if we toss the ball to them, they can see it coming, catch it, hold it, play with it, and—best of all—share it with someone else. Love works the same way. For children to truly understand and learn love, they need to catch it from us. 

If we want to raise a new generation of loving and kind children, it must start with us living out love in front of them. They need to feel what it's like to be loved before they can truly love others. This may mean going beyond loving the easy-to-love kids. It means loving those who seem unlovable – children with behavioral, social, or developmental challenges. But Jesus made it clear when He said, "It's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Matthew 9:12). We should be drawn to the challenging kids, for they need our love the most!

We have the power to transform children's lives, and it starts with loving them well. So next Sunday, love all the kids in your care, but especially look for the ones who need a little extra love. Remember, love isn't something that is taught; it's something that is caught.

P.S. This is true when it comes to loving our fellow leaders, volunteers, and parents too. Just sayin’.