Practical Love

 

Have you been trying to lead your family to Jesus, specifically those living with you? It can prove a daunting task and if you haven’t been able to make headway, perhaps you may want to change your methods, or maybe it’s your behaviour that needs an overhaul. You see it’s just as Jesus said in Mark 6:4 (NLT),

“A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.”

That’s no surprise, since your family knows the real you; those with whom you live everyday know your character and witness your behaviour, godly and ungodly.

What’s the example you’ve been setting? How have you been treating your parents, your siblings, your spouse, your children or even the housekeeper, the gardener, the plumber or any other service provider?  

Have you been demonstrating practical love?

Too often it’s the godly person’s treatment of others that leaves much to be desired. Seeing them in action and observing their attitude toward others leaves the onlooker scratching their heads in disbelief, wondering: How could the Christian be so mean-spirited? Why is the Christian so rude? Is this person really a follower of Jesus Christ?

I am sure that you have encountered this type of person right under your own roof, the same relative who comes to you to chat about Jesus. Why would anyone want to become like that? And if it’s you who can draw the string of that cap, then you need to check yourself.

Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. Don’t you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Of course, if you fail the test, he is not in you. (2 Corinthians 13:5 ERV)

Think about it for more than a moment. You know we never see ourselves the way others see us, so, in denial we say, “Nah, that’s not me”, never bothering to take an honest look at yourself.

Instead, you continue to strut around, high and mighty with your self-exalted self, giving instructions, barking orders and making demands as if you are king but that position has already been filled – Jesus Christ is King and He practiced practical love – love that is not judgmental, love that seeks the well-being of others, love that is not self-seeking, love that is heart-felt, love that is rooted in sacrificial service.

But you seem to conveniently forget that truth, especially when it suits your agenda. You don’t seem to realize that you are behaving the same way as “those other Christians” whom you complain about and criticize.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5 NIV)

Beloved, the people around you must see Christ-like authenticity in you demonstrated in your behaviour, your actions and your attitude; let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18 NIV).

Jesus must be lifted up, not just in the words you speak but in the way you act. Jesus said that if He is lifted up, He will draw men to Himself (see John12:32) but no one will be drawn to Jesus if His followers are treating them with scant courtesy, rather than showing forth the transformative power of the Gospel.

Your life must be a sermon worth preaching. Your love for Christ should never be confined to an outward display at church, but real vital Christianity has to be fostered in your home.

We must all aim to exemplify the tenets of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in our everyday interactions, for that is practical love in action.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Practical Love” ©2026 April 26, 2026