Loving Some Ain't Easy

A little girl was saying her evening prayers. There was a slight pause, and then she continued, “God, it must be difficult for You to love everybody. There are only four people in my family, and it’s hard for me to love all of them.”

Loving others does not always come easy. In fact, some people are almost impossible to love. As someone once said to me, “I love that person just enough to get into heaven.”

But loving others is not an option, it is an obligation. Jesus said, “Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” This was not a new commandment. It can be traced all the way back to Leviticus. But the disciples of Jesus saw a totally new way to love others. He taught them in and through His life and death to love others in a sacrificial way: His way - the way of the cross.

To love sacrificially demands that we go beyond the ordinary ways of helping people. It means that we are willing to be inconvenienced to help anyone who has a need we can meet. It means that we are willing to share the best of what we have - not only the surplus “junk” we no longer need. It means we may have to sacrifice something we value. But so was the way of the cross. This kind of love will draw others to Jesus because the world rarely sees it but needs it.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me to show others how much I love You by the way I live and the way I love others. May my life be an example of mercy, grace, and kindness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today: John 13:34-35 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.