Love the Unlovable

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! 😊

This week’s Happy Friday is a challenge – simple to understand, extremely difficult to do! It is totally counter-cultural today, and it is definitely not for the weak. It will take more wisdom, strength, and courage than most – if not all! – of us have. It will take being highly intentional, it will require us to overlook offenses, and we will have to swallow a lot of pride. Doesn’t this sound like a whole lot of fun?!?! 😊

The Challenge – Love the unlovable.

And who exactly is that? Well, it is not an exhaustive list however it could include those who do not think and act like you. It could also include those who don’t like you, are not nice to you, and are, perhaps, against you. It could include those who don’t share your beliefs, your thoughts, and your ideas. It could include those of the other political party…whatever that is for you (Gasp!). 😊

Matthew 5: 46 – 47 says:

46 If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. 47 If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that.

I also want to share an excerpt from the excellent Bible Study by Carter Canlon titled “The Joy of Serving Others.”

“To be sure, not all people you serve will respond in love. In fact, you can pretty much expect betrayal to enter your life at some point, just as it entered Joseph’s life. Don’t be surprised if people close to you abandon you and pretend you don’t exist. Or, when they do acknowledge your compassion, they might ascribe false and unflattering motives to your good works.

We don’t learn to love people by being surrounded by people who love us. We don’t learn patience by being given what we want when we want it. We don’t learn to trust God when everything is going smoothly in our lives. It is through the difficult times in our lives that we build godly character and become more like Christ.

The truth is that when you live to serve others, it leads you into places where you are stretched beyond your natural ability.

If God plans to use your life in any significant way, you’ll need to endure the hazing of those you are serving! And you will be called to love them. This is precisely what Jesus promised Paul as He invited His newly converted persecutor to walk in the Word and serve his Creator. Jesus promises that Paul will suffer much for following Him.

You’ll be called to dip bread in the wine of your sacrifice and hand it across the table to your Judas. But joy will fill your heart when you start serving others and love them with the love of Christ. Not only will the Lord give you the ability and the power to love others; He will change how you see people – He will give you fresh eyes and His thoughts so that even your enemies become people you deeply care for and love.”

I truly don’t understand how we got where we are today as a society. How come I can only be nice to people who think, act, and believe what I do? How come I can’t have friends of different spirituality, ideology, and political affiliations? And heck, I am not even talking about being friends…how come I can’t give everyone the dignity and respect, the love, they deserve simply because they are another precious soul doing the best they can in this fallen world? The truth is I can and to do less is a choice I make. No, they – whoever they are – can’t make me do anything and while my feelings and pride can get hurt, I can still choose to love them. And, with God’s help, I am determined to do just that, and I hope and pray you will join me on this journey. It is what we are called to do if we are Christians. I need no better model of loving the unlovable, of loving those who persecute me, than the life Jesus lived.

As you contemplate accepting this challenge, a decision we will have to make over and over again every day of our lives, I want to share a few thought provoking quotes.

“Real love is when you are completely committed to someone even when they are being completely unlovable.” – Dave Willis

“It is not the most lovable individuals who stand more in need of love, but the most unlovable.” – Ashley Montagu

“Kids need love the most when they’re acting most unlovable.” – Erma Bombeck

“If you don’t think God’s love for the unlovable is amazing, go try to love someone who hates you for a day. See if that helps.” – Unknown

“If love means anything at all it means extending your hand to the unlovable.” – Quentin Crisp

Two thoughts were running through my mind as I was typing these quotes:

1. What part of the Bible do we believe? The part we actually live out!
2. Everyone wants to be a lion until they gotta do lion sh@t! Everyone wants to profess to be a Bible believing Christian until they actually have to do what the Bible has called them to do!

Challenge thrown down…your choice as to what you do with it!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families, and please stay well! 😊

Kev