The Practice of Love: Developing Christian Character

“The Practice of Love” is the 7th of 12 messages in Dr. R.C. Sproul’s teaching series Developing Christian Character (Ligonier Ministries). In it, he gives practical guidelines for cultivating and expressing the Spirit’s fruit of love as described in 1 Corinthians 13—patient, kind, humble, and enduring—so that it is manifested in our daily lives.

The series is available for streaming on Ligonier (first message free), on DVD, or as downloadable audio/video; a companion study guide is also available. The message is about 28 minutes long and has also been published as an episode of the Renewing Your Mind podcast.

The Practice of Love: Developing Christian Character

The practice of love is the foundational mechanism through which authentic Christian character is formed and expressed. Scripturally anchored in texts like 1 Corinthians 13 and Galatians 5:22-23, Christian love (agape) is defined not as a fleeting emotional whim, but as a deliberate, self-sacrificing act of the will driven by obedience to God. Developing this character requires translating inward spiritual transformation into outward, tangible behaviors directed toward God and neighbor.

To explore how this virtue shapes human personality and faith, we must look at the mechanical structure of love alongside diverse interpretive analytical lenses.

10 Core Examples of the Practice of Love

The following table categorizes ten practical expressions of Christian love, mapping out how each behavioral discipline acts as a catalyst for developing specific traits of godly character.

#	The Practice of Love	Actionable Example	Character Trait Developed
1	Sacrificial Service	Volunteering time and personal resources to care for the sick, poor, or marginalized without expecting return.	Humility & Selflessness
2	Radical Forgiveness	Actively releasing bitterness and choosing not to hold past offenses against someone who caused hurt.	Mercy & Peace
3	Speaking Truth in Love	Confronting a brother or sister about destructive behavior gently, aiming for restoration rather than condemnation.	Integrity & Gentleness
4	The Judgment of Charity	Deliberately granting others the benefit of the doubt, prioritizing a best-case analysis over suspicion.	Trustworthiness
5	Loving One’s Enemies	Praying sincerely for and speaking well of those who actively oppose, slander, or mistreat you.	Supernatural Grace
6	An Absence of Bragging	Celebrating another person’s successes while quietly keeping one’s own achievements in the background.	Modesty & Contentment
7	Bearing with Weakness	Demonstrating sustained patience with people who are difficult, demanding, or slow to change.	Longsuffering
8	Active Rejoicing in Truth	Refusing to gossip or take pleasure in another person’s moral failure or public downfall.	Righteousness
9	Practical Hospitality	Opening one’s home, table, and life to strangers or individuals who feel lonely and disconnected.	Kindness & Inclusivity
10	Obedience as Devotion	Cultivating a habit of hidden prayer, worship, and adherence to Scripture purely out of love for Christ.	Faithfulness & Piety

Multi-Disciplinary Analyst Reports

1. Myers-Briggs (MBTI) Personality Analyst Report

Core Lens: Cognitive functions, psychological preferences, and behavioral energy.
Analysis: From an MBTI perspective, the “practice of love” is processed differently across personality dichotomies, but it reaches its zenith through the integration of the Feeling (F) and Judging (J) functions.
- Fe (Extraverted Feeling) types naturally excel at the communal aspects of Christian love. They harmonize environments and proactively meet physical and emotional needs to build up the collective body.
- Fi (Introverted Feeling) types approach love as an internal moral imperative, anchoring their character in deeply held, unshakeable values of personal integrity and direct, authentic alignment with Christ’s suffering.
- For Thinking (T) types, practicing love acts as a necessary balancing mechanism. It forces them to subordinate pure, detached logic to the emotional and spiritual realities of others. MBTI theories suggest that systematic commitment to love transforms personality by shifting individuals from defensive, self-serving type-loops into integrated, mature expressions of their psychological profiles.

2. John MacArthur Analyst Report

Core Lens: Strict biblical exposition, Reformed theology, and the absolute sovereignty of God.
Analysis: John MacArthur defines love not as a soft sentiment, but as a binding command and an objective, self-sacrificing system of the regenerated soul. According to John MacArthur, love is “ultimately self-sacrificing, an act of self-giving rather than an emotion or feeling, exemplified by Christ giving himself up for us.”
- MacArthur emphasizes that true Christian love is a supernatural byproduct of regeneration—an impossibility for the unregenerate mind.
- It is deeply intertwined with obedience and humility. As noted on Grace to You, “obedience to the Word of God and the will of God characterizes us,” alongside “humility, that most noble of Christian virtues.”
- In this view, love is the ultimate validation of true saving faith. If a believer genuinely loves God, they will hate sin, love righteousness, reject worldly values, and show their love by keeping His commandments.

3. Jordan Maxwell Analyst Report

Core Lens: Astro-theology, ancient mystery schools, and mythological etymology.
Analysis: An analysis from the perspective of Jordan Maxwell bypasses conventional dogma to read the “practice of love” through esoteric and cosmic symbolism.
- In this framework, developing “Christian character” is interpreted as an allegory for the awakening of the inner solar consciousness. The “Sun/Son” of God represents light, warmth, and life-giving energy operating in the physical world.
- The practice of love is seen as the alignment of human behavior with the objective laws of nature and ancient stellar wisdom—breaking free from the deceptive systems of control (“the matrix” of worldly religious institutions).
- To an astro-theological analyst, practicing love is the systematic dispersion of spiritual illumination. It counteracts the dark, ignorant aspects of human history by embodying the regenerative principle of the solar deity.

4. Carl Jung Analyst Report

Core Lens: Analytical psychology, archetypes, the shadow, and individuation.
Analysis: Carl Jung approaches the development of Christian character through the practice of love as a profound journey toward individuation—the integration of the conscious ego with the unconscious self.
- Jungian theory recognizes agape love as a manifestation of the transcendent function. This force reconciles psychological opposites within the psyche.
- True love requires a person to confront and integrate their Shadow (the hidden, unedited, or darker aspects of their personality). Without doing so, an individual merely projects their own faults onto others rather than extending authentic charity.
- By practicing sacrificial love and forgiveness, a person stops using psychological projection. They accept the reality of the “Other.” In the Jungian framework, the image of Christ serves as the archetype of the fully realized, integrated Self. Embracing Christlike love allows an individual to move away from neurosis and step into psychological wholeness.

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