New Seasons – Day 8

I think the biggest test of your willingness to serve God and be obedient to him, often comes from within your own family. Our families are often the area where it’s most difficult to live out our Christian principles. Perhaps, because it is the place where others know you the best. Maybe, it’s because this is the area where all your masks come off and you are who you are. Sometimes it’s also difficult because the members of your family do not always make it easy for you. Your family is the training ground for the game you play every day. If you cannot live in genuine self-sacrificing love at home, you can hardly expect to succeed in the outside world. In the inner circle, where others cannot always see it, this is where our hearts are tested.

When you’re at home with your family, you must live with the attitude Paul describes in Ephesians 4, “be kind and compassionate to one another”. This means that you should try to accommodate others and genuinely try to be good to one another. Do not just think of your own needs. People often forget that they are not just there for themselves, but for each other, and that their own needs do not have to come first! Everyone should make a special effort to exercise God’s love within their family.

Furthermore, Paul says that we should forgive one another as God has forgiven us. Perhaps, this the core of family members’ love for one another – to forgive each other, and live in peace and harmony with each other.

Sometimes it’s hard, but the Lord asks this kind of love of every believer. You must love those closest to you and constantly remember that there is no one closer to you than your spouse, your children, your siblings or parents. Love begins with them.