Love the Unlovely!

Are there people in your life that are difficult?  People that no matter how hard you try, you can't tolerate them.  Perhaps they are loud, selfish, never listen, annoying, etc.  The list can go on and on.  If not, I once read something that said if there aren't people like that in your world, you better look in the mirror because that person might be you (LOL).  As I began to write this, loving the unlovely, I realize it must be an issue because it has been covered numerous times. God says you need to love even those people who are difficult or seemingly impossible to love. The mark of true believers is the love they have for others. Did you know there usually is a reason some people are difficult to love? More than likely, part of the problem is that they don’t have enough love, which means they need our love the most of all! We have our own personalities, and they mesh better with certain personalities. But even with the differences between people, we can still love others with the love God has shown to us. I know we will be amazed how much things will change if we just take that first step of faith and love the unlovely people around us. They are desperate for love and friendship, and we can make all the difference.  There is always going to be that one person we struggle with.  To us they are so difficult to tolerate. 

I use to share with my girls in Sunday School that God puts those people in our lives to teach us to love like Jesus.  It is human nature to love people who are like us and that we find lovely, however it is God's nature to love people who aren't. Matthew 5:46-47  "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?"  When God looks down upon us, remember He is a holy God and to Him our righteousness is as filthy rags.  Isaiah 64:6 "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."  So I have to conclude we must be unlovely in His eyes.  However, He chose to love us - so much He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.  When we encounter people who test our patience, bring out our inner ugly, and cause us to not act according to God's word, we need to stop and recognize it is God's way of refining us to be more like Him.  Let's seek His patience and guidance in these situations and rise up and pass the test.  I know we will be surprised how God can use us in a mighty way with that person if we will choose to love them like Jesus chose to love us. 

Loving the unlovely can be a day by day sacrifice.  We can be standing there talking to someone who annoys us to the point we want to scream.  We might want to punch some people (when hormones are raging).  We might just act like we care but really don't (and they probably feel it).  The point I’m heading toward is we need to remember the sacrifices Christ made and the attitudes he demonstrated. I’m not just talking about the Big One (His own terrible, painful death), but the time Jesus spent with the smelly, rude, unappealing people He encountered every day. He talked with them, ate with them, touched them and genuinely cared for them and expects as much from us.  Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Whether it is someone who has outer odor or just has a stinky disposition, we need to walk toward them, take a moment to listen, encourage them and see how we can help meet an immediate need.  Proverbs 11:25  “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

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