Loving People Who Don't Love You (A Letter To Myself)
Loving people can be hard. It is so easy to let sin creep in when it comes to this subject.
The enemy and our flesh will go undercover as justice and common sense, telling you that since someone has failed you, you now have license to treat that person with less respect and love than you would normally.
I have been needing to drill truth into my head lately because it is so incredibly easy to fall down the hole of self-righteousness. Before you know it anger will engulf you and will effect everything you do. News flash, Meagan, people will fail you… you will fail yourself.
God never intended for people to be your source of joy, that is a position in which only He can fill. If you try to fill it with anything else, you’re only hurting yourself and worst of all, failing to live as God intends for you to.
This DOES NOT mean you have to be friends with said people or agree with everything they do and say. It does mean that you should have a change of heart towards them. It means you should treat them with respect, not because they deserve it, but because you yourself are no better and because it is what God commands you to do. Even if you treat them better than they do you, remember that it is GOD’S GRACE working through you. On your own you’re just as filthy as the next gal.
Loving people, even when they don’t love you back is so important in your walk with Christ. The church was not made for you to go be loved by people, it was made for you to go serve Christ by loving them. Hopefully the church is filled with likeminded believers and mutual love will be inevitable, but you are not entitled to their love.
God wants us to build each other up – to encourage one another in our relationships with Christ and efforts to advance the gospel. As cheesy as it sounds, this starts with you. It starts when you get over other people’s shortcomings and love them anyway. You can’t do it alone and you’re only wasting time if you try.
Loving people is only made possible by the one whom extended perfect love to people who couldn’t be less deserving of it if they tried, so ask Him for help. See how He did it and ask for His wisdom and strength. He is faithful to those who seek His guidance.
