CALLING THEM 'FAVORITES'?

John 13:1, 22-23, 34-35

1 It was just before the Passover Feast.

Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.

Having loved His own who were in the world,

He now showed them the full extent of His love.

22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them He meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to Him.

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."

John 21:7a Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"

Have you ever had a grandmother who played "favorites" with her grandchildren? Maybe an aunt or uncle, or a grandfather, played 'favorites' in your family?

Perhaps a parent you had may have 'favored' one child over another during your lifetime

which didn't make you feel very loved, much less the 'favorite' of the children.

Allow me share a true story with you. Let this real life story paint a picture of

how our Father [God] sees those who are called His children.

Perhaps it will alter your view of playing 'favorites' with your children

- but in a way you never expected!

Back in May, I attended the funeral service of my friend's husband, Ray,

who had fought a hard battle with cancer.
Having lost my own husband to cancer, I wanted to be there to support the family.

Ray was a Jewish believer who had known Yeshua

many years of his life as His Savior and Lord.

Ray and his wife had three children, all married

with children of their own.

I lost count of how many there were.

The service began as a celebration of Ray's life

and being the humorous man that he was

there was tale after tale of practical jokes and stories

that could hold our attention for hours.

It was obvious how much this man had touched many lives all over the room, with his humor and his deep abiding love for others.

But~ when I listened to each of Ray's children, share about their father,

each one said the same thing,

"I was my daddy's favorite child."

Each gave testimony after testimony of how and why this father called 'them' his 'favorite'.

Then, after all of the children had shared, several of the young grandchildren got up and shared about life with their grandfather.

A 9 year old got up.

"I was my Grandpa's favorite."

Then, from another grandchild, about 12 years old standing tall,

a story soon emerged about how her grandpa made her feel like

'she was the only one in the world

who carried his love for her.'

How could this be, you might ask as I did? How could there be more than one favorite? I tell you that each one in that family was so special to Ray that he was likened unto our heavenly Father - who because of Jesus - loves each of us like that. Ray never called one child his favorite without calling the others that too! In Ray's eyes - each of them really was his favorite.
In God the Father's eyes, each of us is His 'favored' child as well.
John, the Beloved disciple, knew he was loved by Jesus and he told anyone and everyone - just like Ray's kids did! And like John, the Beloved, they believed it too!
In our society we've been taught to never play 'favorites' with our children or grandchildren. But after hearing that family's testimony from another perspective, I'm going to consider this carefully and put into action that same kind of 'favored love' toward my children and grandchildren that our heavenly Father lavishes on us.
How about you? Will you play 'favorites', giving each one your 'favored love'?
Choosing JOY,