Daily Devotional for April 2, 2022
Overflow
Violet peered down into a shiny silver bucket hanging off a sugar maple tree. Her homeschool friends crowded around her as a crystal-clear liquid dripped out of the tap from the tree and into the bucket.
“It’s hard to believe this clear stuff is made into maple syrup!” Trey motioned to the surrounding tapped trees. The silver buckets glistened in the sunshine.
“Are you kids ready to go inside and see the whole process?” Mr. Les motioned the homeschool group inside the sugarhouse.
Inside, Violet sniffed in appreciation. “It smells like candy in here!”
Mr. Les grinned. “It’s one of my favorite things about the transformation. As the steam rises, the smell of sweet syrup fills the whole sugarhouse.” The kids watched in fascination as Mr. Les showed how the sap was heated in the evaporator until the temperature reached 219 degrees. “As the water evaporates, the sap thickens until you get this.” Mr. Les had Trey twist a knob, and the kids gasped in delight as golden syrup came pouring out into a bucket below. Just before it overflowed, Mr. Les turned it off. “Next, we filter the syrup and measure the sugar content.” Mr. Les showed the group a few more things before he asked if there were any questions.
“Do we get to taste any?” Trey jumped up and down.
Mr. Les laughed. “Of course!” He pointed to a table with samples of syrup in tiny paper cups.
Violet took a sip of warm maple syrup and sighed. “It’s so good! I could drink a whole overflowing cup of syrup.”
“Overflow—that word was in the verse my mom just had us memorize,” Bree mused. “First Thessalonians 3:12—it’s about having overflowing love for others.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to love others—especially when they aren’t being nice,”
Trey interjected.
“True—that’s why we need to rely on Jesus to help us love the way He loves,” Violet replied.
“I’m glad we have His help to make our love for others increase and overflow,” Bree said as she finished off her cup of syrup.
“Me too.” Trey licked the last bit of syrup from his cup. “He helps us show others how good He is!”
-Savannah Coleman
How about you?
Do you ever have a difficult time showing love to others? If you are a child of God, you don’t have to love others in your own strength. Jesus showed us the depth of His love by sacrificing His life on the cross for us, and He helps us love others. He makes our hearts overflow with love and spill out into our words and actions so others can see how good He is.
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