So, the Bible tells us to love the people around us. Jesus goes as far as the tell us to love our enemies! In Matt 5:43-48 Jesus says that anyone can love those who love them. There’s no reward in loving people who love you already, everyone does that. Even tax collectors or in todays world dishonest business men and thieves love the people that love them. Jesus says we need to love those who do not love us back, the ones who ignore us, who hate us, who rip us off, lies to us or treat us like crap. (Major paraphrase.)
I always read this and hardly thought about it. I always thought of enemies as in war or some other majorly dramatic situation. I figured that one day if someone did something really awful to me I would be able to make the choice to love them and forgive them. Loving however does not start with the big situations, it starts with today’s situations. In reality, when someone treated me like crap, I got angry with them. Sometimes I would put them in their place while other times I would pridefully stay quiet and think about how badly they were in the wrong. The truth is, I definitely did not love my enemies. When someone talked to me in a nasty tone, I often reacted in a nasty tone. If someone ignored me, I got annoyed. If someone yelled at me, I made sure they realized that I was pissed at them for it. Everyone once in a while I was able to react with a soft answer, but not often. I was focussed on myself, and decided that if someone treated me badly then they deserved some type of punishment.
This however is not what Jesus instructed us to do. Jesus said to love our enemies which even includes loving the members of our families and friends when they lash out at us.
A few weeks ago I ran through an interesting situation. Someone who I deal with and interact with on an every day basis began to treat me quite badly. It wasn’t just a one time word or action, but an ongoing issue that began to leak into every interaction they had with me every day for weeks. I kept quite quiet for a while and managed not to say too much to them and felt I was growing. However, after several weeks it got to the point that I was ready to snap and tell them how it was and where to go. It was then that I spent some alone time with God and asked Him was I should do. The answer was clear. God told me that I had a responsibility to love that person. I asked how I should confront them, and God said that He would. It was His job that day. So, I decided I was going to love this person. It wasn’t easy, because they continued to treat me the same way. They also avoided me when they had nothing bad to say. I hardly had the chance to do something nice and definitely didn’t have the chance to have a good conversations and encourage them. However, I showed love through a simple smile, a nice comment and also by not treated them badly as a reaction to their treatment.
I wasn’t perfect in my love for that person, but God began to make a change in me. Very quickly the way they treated me began to affect me less and less. Loving them wasn’t so much a grueling task as a joy, a chance to serve not only them but over all my loving Heavenly Father. (If God can love me after I constantly turn from Him and disobey Him, who am I not to love another no matter how they treat me.)
I also realized that God had given me a chance to grow in love. I always assumed that one day when I was married when my wife would act badly towards me I would react so lovingly toward her and quickly mend any problem. I realize I was day dreaming like crazy. If I couldn’t love my enemy today, then can I really expect to magically love my wife one day when she acts like an “enemy?”
The fact is, our opportunity to grow is right now. Its not tomorrow when war breaks out or we face persecution for being Christians, its right now! We need to learn to love our co-workers when they lash out at us, to love our family when they misunderstand us, to love our spouse when they come home grumpy and tired. Loving starts now, in todays situation. I know its not always easy, but its good! As we love, we don’t only grow in our character, but also in our relationship with God and the people around us. We also will hate and stress less often and will be able to find much more joy in our lives.
I haven’t written this to say look at me; I still have so far to go. I’m writing this as an encouragement. I hope that everyone who reads this will be encouraged and find new strength to love! In the end guys, “What we do in love will remain, but what is not done in love for God will not count.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-6 (paraphrased)
“So now faith, hope and love will remain, but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13: 13
