The top shelf of your bookcase may not have seen a duster in a few months, or even a couple of years, but that doesn’t make you a contender for the next series of How clean is your house?
But when it comes to the state of our faith, there may be a bit more dirt and grime festering beneath the surface, and God may have a few words to say to us about biblical obedience.
We can concern ourselves with how long we spend each day in prayer, or meditating on Scripture, or with exploring theological arguments around a certain passage in the Bible.
But Jesus asks us to examine our hearts and minds, and to consider whether we are responding to his call to ‘love our neighbour’ – with the sort of attentive care that meets the needs of the whole person – spiritually, practically, emotionally, physically, mentally.
'When you give yourself to people, you become closely drawn into their lives and their hardships, and that can be quite demanding' - Dr Kiran Martin (centre), founder of Tearfund partner Asha which works in the slums of Delhi, India.
Bringing whole-life transformation to those in need forms the backbone of the work of Tearfund’s partners.
Take the compassion of one church volunteer in Zimbabwe, who restores the dignity of a man dying of AIDS.
‘No-one visited him other than to put food on the floor and leave. When I opened the door, the stench was unreal.
‘So, I fetched some warm water and bathed him. I sat there, feeding him porridge and talking to him.
‘He died, not an outcast, but one loved and created in God’s image. When I told him God loved him and Jesus died for him, he held my hand tight.’
For people dying because of AIDS, medicines can prolong life, but without compassion and practical help the quality of life is meaningless.
Volunteers in Zimbabwe understand that only too well – and so do volunteers for Tearfund’s partner Grandma’s, who draw alongside families in London who are affected by HIV.
For most of us, it’s unlikely that we’re in daily contact with people dying of AIDS, but, in our own lives, we can put Jesus’ words into action and reach out to those in need. Not least by showing love through prayer – by interceding on behalf of people we have never met.
Text: Jo Hill & Lorraine Kingsley