Loving the Unlovable

Loving unconditionally (that agape kind of love) is something I’ve sought to embody for quite a few years now. Loving others unconditionally means that when you give, when you serve, and when you care, you do so without any expectation. You do it genuinely expecting nothing in return. I think that is a beautiful way to live and experience God’s love. The level at which we know God is determined by how we love.

Let’s get to the harder side of love. We are told to, “love our enemies” and as much as we say we do (I’ll be the first to say I thought I was good at this) do we really? How often do we pray for the racists, the rapists, and the terrorists as this general group of intangible “enemies” (guilty!)? That’s not hard. How easy it is to pray for other countries, but not show love to that cousin you don’t get along with.

I have a family member who has hurt, betrayed, beat, cheated, stole from, and manipulated myself and people I love very dearly. And I can honestly say there are days I wish he were dead. There are days I wish he wasn’t alive so that he couldn’t hurt us anymore. If you knew the things I’ve been through you would say my inability to love this one person is reasonable — but it’s wrong. Jesus loved people who betrayed him, hurt him, manipulated him, beat him, and denied him. If I want to know him I have to love like him. God calls us to step out into faith. He’s asking me to show love to a human whose mention makes me feel physically sick. But I need to love that man. Not because he deserves it but because my God calls me to love him.

This isn’t easy. But I’m glad to be able to constantly learn and grow. Most importantly I’m glad when God calls me to fix things that scare me. You only grow outside your comfort zone. So if he calls you into the waves — go with a smile and know that he is making you great.