...practical

When I was young, my grandfather would come to our house with a box of Astoria Toast. This crunchy cinnamon toast was tasty when dunked in a glass of cold milk. I have fond recollections of my grandfather bringing this treat on visits. 

I was 15 when he gave me his 1948 DeSoto sedan. The engine didn't run, and I learned as much as I could, improving my basic mechanic skills, only to conclude that the car belonged in the wrecking yard. I recall grandfather's gifts as his way of showing Practical Love. 

I'm sure you've experienced times when someone did something unexpected for you. It's a great feeling, as though the sun breaks through the dark, bringing cheer to the day. It motivates me to do something unexpected for another person as well.

First John, defines how our relationship with God develops over our lifetime, starting as young Christians, to becoming veterans in the faith, learning the importance of love. The word love is repeated some 40 times and is connected inwardly to our relationship with God, and outwardly to our relationships with family and friends. 

This book also says that we love because we first are loved.  In the third chapter it says that we should not talk about love but practice love, that is to say, put love into practice through what we do. In this context, Practical Love means sacrificial love, not superficial love.

If I show love merely with a token gift, I may end up regretting that I didn't give more. Talk of love is small but practicing that love is big. If we act out of love, we should give sacrificially.

Each time you help a fellow Christian in need, you are practicing Practical Love. For example: giving away a load of firewood, or offering your best clothes. When we act with a genuine heart we are free to let God love through us. 

Through practice, we develop a fully mature love, generous in everything. When this love permeates our churches, lives begin to flower and bloom because the Spirit of God lives in loving hearts. It's amazing what genuine acts of Practical Love do when you love one another as Christ loves us.

-gary kallio