Love The Unlovable

I was sitting down with my cousin and sister a few nights ago during our new weekly bible study. We gathered together, books, pens, coffee mugs, notebooks sprawled onto the floor... but we didn't know where to start. So we decided on Matthew in the New Testament. 

It was going pretty well, we were going back and forth on various verses, talking about how it applied in our lives. We understood and had read multiple times the part that Jesus says to love your neighbors and pray for others.

But then we got to this specific verse:

But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. // Matt. 5:44

I mean I understand Jesus never wants us to do bad to those that hate us or anyone in general... but to bless them too? Wouldn't it just be okay if we avoided them altogether? That would make life so much easier and less complicated. So we kept reading on. 

For if you love them which love you, what reward do you have? Do not the publicans do the same?// Matt. 5:46

Ouch. I felt as if I just got stabbed in the heart. If I do only choose to love the people that love me too... how does that make me any different than someone who only loves people exactly like themselves?

It doesn't! It makes me exactly the same. Truth is loving someone that loves who you are, what you say, how you act, your choice of music, TV show, and opinions is easy. What's hard? It's loving a person that maybe doesn't show you love back. 

A person that you can easily get into arguments with, disagreements, or maybe isn't even approachable. I struggle with this. And it made me feel sad and guilty, because I realize that many times I'm not lovable at all... but Jesus never stops loving me. 

And so I took out my thick black pen and wrote these words into my journal:

Love people that are hard to love. 

I don't want to go through life knowing I could have shown love to someone but chose not to because they simply weren't open to my offering of it. I don't want the circumstances to change what I would otherwise do or say to someone that would gladly show me love and acceptance back. 

I hope to always choose love and to never forget that everyone deserves it, whether they show it or not. In the hopes that someday, they too will come to know all of the beautiful things that love is.