Do you find it reassuring to know that my word is a lamp unto your feet? What do you think of as a lamp? Do you use a flashlight with a focused beam to find your way at night? You understand that flashlights were not available when this was written. The lamp referred to in the passage was more like a candle than a flashlight. Could you find your way at night with a candle? This is a more challenging task and would limit your rate of movement. You have my promise of guidance but only for one step at a time.

Do you love me? Do you love people? Do you see these things as being connected? It is easy to say you love me. It is much harder to love your brother in manifested visible ways, but if you do this people will believe you when you say you love me. Even as John has spoken, how can a man love God whom he cannot see if he cannot love his brother whom he can see? Consider the people you admire most. Isn’t their love for people necessary and central to their admirable qualities? Is this separable from faith? In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me.

Are you a heresy hunter? Do you know anyone who is? Everyone thinks their own faith is entirely orthodox, and any deviations from that are suspect. How much effort do you put into hunting down the errors of others and setting them straight? It is good to be zealous for the truth, but do you see how this can backfire? Are those outside the faith more amused or perplexed or dismissive of disputes between believers that claim to represent the same faith? Are you committed to defend the truth? Balance this against the lengths you will go to maintain fellowship with your brother.  

Do you know what sacrifice is acceptable to me? Have you heard that it is a broken spirit and a contrite heart? Do you know people that you would describe in this way? How do you suppose they got there? This isn’t something you can put on your ‘to-do’ list in the morning and check off at the end of the day. Longsuffering is only acquired by suffering long. This isn’t something you can structure and work as a part of a self-improvement program, but if you give your consent I will make it happen. I don’t promise that it will be painless or easy; quite the opposite.