Love, Love, Love!

We don't love like we should.   We make snap judgments about people that color the way we view them and change the way we treat them.  

In general, I don't think we treat people badly even if we don't hold them in high regard but we hold back and reserve our best treatment for those we deem more "worthy."  But is that what Jesus would do?  

Hmmmm.  I think we all know the answer to that.

Jesus had choice words for false teachers and those who were spiritual leaders and knew the truth but were leading people astray.   But He showed love and compassion for people in all walks of life - rich, poor, prostitutes, the demon-possessed, tax collectors, even a criminal dying beside Him on a cross.  

What does your heart do when you see someone begging for money by the side of the road?  I admit my thoughts have, at times, been not very loving towards them.  I used to buy extra food at lunch to give the beggars outside a downtown restaurant or give my left-overs to a beggar on my way back to my car.   But once someone turned their nose up on my left-over food and threw it away.  I was young and thought I was helping the hungry without giving them cash that could be spent on drugs or alcohol but not every begger is hungry or looking for food.  Some are.  Some have legitimate needs.  Others are too lazy to work and still others have ruined themselves through addiction and are looking for money to feed those addictions and are unable to work because of their illicit habits.   I never give money because I don't want to enable an addict and I can't control how they will use the money.   My mother-in-law and my brother-in-law have taken people in need to the grocery store and bought them a cart full of food to feed their families.  I admire them for being so generous and loving. 

People have various needs and it's easy to ignore them and walk away because we really don't know how honest they are being about what they may or may not truly need.  But in ALL cases people need Jesus.  So now, I try to stop and smile - greet them with kindness.  I still don't give them money but I DO say a prayer in my heart for their salvation and if I have a gospel tract with me I give them that instead of money- because eternal life is more valuable than all the money in the world!

What about the people closest to me?  I have family members (outside my immediate family) who are very difficult to love.  One in particular has ruined his life and lost everything (marriage,  home, job, kids) because of his addictions to drugs, alcohol, infidelity, you name it.  Once, after having almost no contact with him for years, out-of-the-blue he sent me a message asking if my Dad was dead yet.  At the time, my Dad was living in a memory care facility and I had to swallow pretty hard to show love toward this family member.   And I tried to reach him for Christ but all he wanted to do was argue and debate.   He enjoyed the role of antagonist and would do his best to be devil's advocate on every issue and constantly try to shock and offend me.  I am not offended easily but he was creating so much discord in my life that I had to cut off communication and love him from a distance.   But I DO love him and pray for him.  He knows the truth - I am praying he will come to accept it as his own.

Do I view my neighbor who is politically on the opposite end of the spectrum from me with love and compassion and in need of a Savior?  Yes.

Do I treat the cashier at the grocery store with the same love and respect I would if we were in a church setting?  Yes.

It's important to examine the motives of my heart.  I am Christ's representative and that is a huge responsibility!  I also wield tremendous power - I have the ear of God and, through prayer, I can bring all His power and might to bear.  That's something I don't take lightly.   Through prayer I can really have a positive impact - I have seen it!  It's real!  And it's available to all believers in Jesus Christ.   And using His power to love some of the unlovely around us is something we all have a choice to avail ourselves of.  Do I always WANT to love those who are hard to love?  No.  But I choose to because it's what Jesus would do - what He has called all of us to do.  How can I refuse Him after all He went through to make sure heaven was available to ME, a miserable sinner?

And let's face it, we are ALL difficult to love sometimes.   I have MS and am going through menopause - believe me, I'm hard to love at times.  But we all need to be able to have difficult seasons without fear that we won't be loved because of those hard times.

It's far from easy to love without partiality, but we have an all powerful God who is available to help us - He's just a whisper away- so close He can hear our thoughts.  We don't even have to ask audibly- we just need to ask in our hearts and the Holy Spirit immediately translates our thoughts into God's action.  It's amazing!