Followers of Christ are called to love their neighbors and to love their enemies.
Right?
Humor me for a moment.
There is at least one person in your life that can get under your skin in a heartbeat. It may be a family member, co-worker, or friend that doesn't think before they talk, that tries to annoy you on purpose, or that you may feel only cares about themselves. That one person that can cause you to lose your "cool". That one person that you can't talk to because you don't want to say something that you shouldn't. That one person that is so hard to love. That person that you talk to God about kind of like this, "God if you love them, do I have to?"
I used to struggle with this. I knew that as a follower of Christ I was to love His people and to love His children, so with this in mind, I would do my best to be nice to everybody. Of course, occasionally I have let my annoyances get the best of me.
When we let our annoyances, that are caused by another person, get the best of us, we snap. We subconsciously decide that we get to choose who to love and who not to. Who to talk to and who not to talk to. Who to sympathize with and who to leave alone. Who to show Jesus to and who not to.
You might've stopped on the last one. Maybe you thought, "Whoa, wait. I never choose who to show Jesus to and who not to."
By deciding who to befriend and who not to befriend we ultimately decide who we are going to be showing Jesus to.
God has made it very clear to me that that is not a choice that is ours. We don't get to choose who we show His love to. We are to show God's love to every single man, women and child that is out there. It doesn't matter it they annoy you, you are to love them anyway.
You're right, you don't HAVE to love them but you GET to love them.
It's a transition though. You have to change your "have to" mindset into a "get to" mindset. I'm sure that there is more than one way to make that transition, but I'll show you how I've made that transition...
"Love.
We were made for it.
Made to love. Made to be loved. Made to say love. Made to know love.
But did you know you were made by Love?
Love thought you into existence.
Love knit you together in your mother's womb and then breathed life into your soul.
Love gave you a purpose.
Love gave you a name.
Love knows the number of hairs on your head and the number of thoughts inside it.
Love knows your every move, your every secret, your every victory, your every tear, your every chuckle, your every sigh.
Love made you.
You see...
Love is a Someone.
Sure, love is a word.
You've read the word hundreds of times on hundreds of book covers, billboards, magazines.
You've heard the word thousands of times in thousands of song lyrics, commercials, movies.
You've said the word millions of times about millions of things, places, people.
Sure, love is an action.
You love your friend, and so you spend time with her.
You love your grandparents, so you smile when they give you that green, fuzzy purse at Christmas that looks more like a pet than an accessory.
You love your mom, and so you wash the dishes. (Ahem. Hint. Hint.)
Sure, love comes with feelings.
You feel butterflies when he walks in the room.
You feel comfortable to be yourself when you are with them.
You feel compassion when she is hurting.
But, above all, love is a Someone."
-Jenna Lucado
We were made by love. We were brought into existence by love. Love knows everything about us. God is love and therefore love is a someone. It's important that we understand that. Because once you let God show you exactly how He loves you, you'll realize that He loves everyone else just as much as He loves you.
They were made by love too. They were brought into existence by love too. Love knows everything about them too. Because God loves them too.
Once you experience the kind of love that God has for you, you're going to have this deep desire to tell people how much God loves them too.
You won't be able to help it.
And suddenly, it'll be a get to and not a have to.
Let God love you first.
"Jesus didn't mean just love those who fit into our idea of lovable. He meant those who are broken, those who are scarred, those who no one else will touch. Jesus meant love them all. We don't get to pick and choose." -Unknown