We can learn to be more like Jesus even (or especially) in our families. Joy can be found when we work towards this type of love. C. Max Caldwell said the following about the love of Jesus Christ, “Jesus’ love was inseparably connected to and resulted from his life of serving, sacrificing, and giving on behalf of others. We cannot develop Christlike love except by practicing the process prescribed by the Master” (“Love of Christ,” Ensign, Nov. 1992).
We don’t have a finite amount of love to share. Love isn’t wasted. Love increases the more we learn to share it. We don’t have to save our love for the strangers we meet on the road to Jericho. This road goes straight through our own living rooms. Love begins at home.
But sometimes, we don’t see that the things we do at home are important to the Lord. We think we have to do big things for orphans in foreign lands to have it count. Doing these types of things are good, but the work we do in the home is important to God. My friend, Ann, was feeling burdened with all the care her young family needed and wanting to help more with service projects around Christmastime. She shares what she learned about serving her family in the following quote:
The admonition “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40) applies to my work as a mother. I have learned that when we are called to serve our fellow men, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick, we don’t have to leave our own homes. We feed our hungry little ones with the meals we prepare, clothe their nakedness with the piles of clean laundry we do, and who better than a mother to visit them in their beds when they burn with fever or cough all night?
Sometimes, we burden ourselves with tasks that were never meant to be ours. Although it is noble to serve and love a stranger as Christ would, we will be blessed when our primary focus is on loving the precious little ones God has entrusted to our care.
Ann Lindner, Warrensburg, Missouri (Used with permission)
What a beautiful, tender mercy from God when Ann needed it most! Keeping this scripture and perspective in mind may help us to serve our families with more love. We know that, “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). By considering the work we do at home as a service to God, we can find joy in everyday tasks that support our families. Washing the dishes and doing laundry becomes something we can do for Jesus and our Heavenly Father. We can have love in our hearts as we do these things. This can bring us comfort and even joy knowing we are serving one of the least of these and thus serving our God. Serving our families gives us a chance to practice what the Master prescribed.