LOVE IS
Loving Others God’s Way
By Laura Martin.
Christian Focus. 176 pages. £5.99
ISBN 978-1845509712
Love is is a pink A5 devotional-cum-Bible study book focussed around Paul’s teaching of 1 Corinthians 13. It has 30 short chapters.
Each page is decorated with a tasteful red heart border making it engaging to read. Each chapter starts with a useful pictorial introduction and then a Bible reading from another part of the Bible which examines God’s character. The ‘digging deeper’ questions that follow are when the rubber really hits the road. Examples exposing sin cut to the heart for our family – on numerous occasions I wondered if Laura Martin had been an unseen guest at our house for a weekend, or perhaps even a day! I would advise that for junior aged children an adult or older sibling reads with them, because as always it’s easy to gloss over our individual sin and how the Lord may be wishing to correct and refine us. My only minor irritation is that the Bible verses weren’t numbered, so an NIV Bible is also needed to answer the questions. The conclusion, a written prayer, helps to draw thoughts together and look to the Lord for dependence on making us more like him.
Great application of the gospel
Laura Martin often relates back to the cross: on page 87 in her chapter ‘No Records of Wrongs’ she takes us to Hebrews 8.12 ‘I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.’ I was impressed by how gifted she is in helping us to apply the gospel to our daily lives (something that I’ve previously found missing in other Bible Study guides/ devotionals for children) but she doesn’t fall into the trap of encouraging salvation by good works. Her final chapter ‘How do I become a Christian?’ underlines her commitment to this.
Love is has been written for girls, (I would suggest particularly junior school age), but I think it would suit mixed sex families – we used it as our breakfast devotional, although we did have to work hard to keep all ages (3–13) on board as it is slightly longer than we would usually take. With the exception of a pink cover and red hearts, I think that the material would be equally relevant to a sons only house! Another proviso would be not to feel under pressure to use it every day for a month. Use it as frequently as you can and revisit it to encourage yourselves how God has been at work in your lives.
Buy this book...
So buy this book: if you are looking for a Christmas present for a godchild; if you don’t do any family devotionals – it’s good to start somewhere; if you have a lot of arguments and irritations in your family and would love God to show you how to love each other more!
