Loving Others

We love loving and being in love. We even love longing for love and being loved. It seems we were made for love.

We love our spouses, children and significant others. We may even love the folks we work with or attend school with. But what about those that are hard for us to love? The fellow student who cheats and yet is never caught, or the coworker who repeatedly takes credit for your work? What of the car mechanic who suddenly “discovers” additional things that need repair? How are we to love those among us whom we consider unlovely? Most of us shy away from them, not wanting a confrontation. But should we shy away? Should we turn our backs on the very ones who seem to cry out so loudly for our attention?

For Christians, the Lord's commandment to love our enemies can be a challenge. Do we love those who openly flaunt their sins before us or threaten us? What should that love look like? Do we invite them home to dinner? Smile, but keep them at arm's length? I admit to being conflicted about this in some cases. Can we love someone we strongly disagree with politically, socially, or morally? What about those people who vote differently, don't look like us or talk like us and who may be homeless? How far do we take loving others in this 21st century world, where doing so might provoke unintended results? How can we put away our fear and reach out to others?

Matthew 8:3 shows how Jesus put love into practice. At a time when no one wanted to come near a leper, much less touch one, Jesus reached out and touched him. That Divine touch immediately cleansed the leper. What are we to say to this? More importantly, how do we respond? We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. Sometimes, putting that into practice is not easy.

How do you express love in these cases? I'd love to hear how you personally handle this. Please leave a comment in the box below. Loving the unlovely. Those are hard but good words.

Copyright © 2010 Barbara Hemming. All Rights Reserved.