Loving the Unlovely

 

By Andrea Merrell

Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, 

not the worst.

Luke 6:28 MSG

 

The topic was love. The assignment for the week had been for the group to choose an “unlovely person” in their life and practice sharing God’s love with them.

The leader of the group was anxious to hear the results. “So, how did it go? Who wants to begin?”

Silence filled the room for a long moment until one girl finally spoke up. “That man I told you about, my next door neighbor. I tried. I really did. I know I’m supposed to love him, but I just don’t like him. I fact, I can’t stand him.”

Her words caused a buzz in the room and a lot of agreement from the others. Then a discussion followed about how we can love someone without liking them.

“Tell me what the Bible says about love,” the leader said.

Answers came like shotgun fire. Love one another. Love your enemies. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love is patient. Love is kind. Do everything in love. Love covers a multitude of sin. Love never fails.

Pleased with the answers, the leader said, “So, how do we obey the Word when someone is hard to love?”

After another long pause, the answers came, slowly at first. We can pray for them. We can forgive them. We can see them through God’s eyes. We can be more concerned about their soul than their behavior. We can stop being critical of them and look for the best.

The leader went on to explain that we don’t base our love on a person’s words or actions. That makes it conditional. When we learn to see others as God’s creation—those He loves and sent Jesus to die for—it changes our perspective.

The Bible tells us that when we learn to love our enemies—the unlovely—it brings out the best in us.

Are you ready to love the unlovely?

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.