Day 82 · Week 12
Passage: Matthew 5:15; Joshua 24:15; Colossians 3:12–15
Memory Verse: Matthew 5:16
Matthew 5:15 (KJV)
“Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”
Jesus says a lamp on its stand “giveth light unto all that are in the house.”
Before our light reaches the neighborhood, workplace, school, or community, there are people living closest to us.
Home is often where Christian character is tested most honestly.
It is easier to be patient with someone we see occasionally than with someone whose habits irritate us every day. It may be easier to speak graciously at church than when we are tired at home.
But the people closest to us should not receive the leftovers of our Christianity.
Paul tells God's people to put on kindness, humbleness, meekness, longsuffering, forgiveness, and love. Those qualities belong in the home as much as anywhere else.
A Christian home does not mean a home without disagreements. It means disagreements are handled differently. People apologize. Forgiveness is practiced. Prayer is normal. Scripture matters. Family members learn that love is more important than winning.
The lamp Jesus lights in us should illuminate the house first.
Why can it sometimes be harder to show patience and kindness at home than around people we do not know as well?
What is one way I could make our home brighter for the other people who live here?
Ask Jesus to make your home a place where His character is visible in the way family members treat one another.