Love is…tricky
A Blog About Love by Julia Sifers
There are some people in my life that are hard to love. Oof. There I said it. It’s not an easy thing for me to admit as a high functioning people-pleaser, but as I’m gaining years, I’ve had some wisdom trickle in.
The wisdom is that just because I want to please everyone, I will never have the ability. (Another hard thing to admit!) And just because it's easier to pretend everything is fine, it sometimes is important to admit, no, it’s almost always important to admit that I’m not perfect.
When I sit in my imperfection, and look over at that harder to love individual, it’s a lot easier for me to see how incapable I am at doing this love thing on my own. I can try to fake it till I make it, but what a disservice that does to everyone involved!
Okay, so we are told to love each other:
“A new commandment I give you, love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 NIV
But how?
Let’s start with what love is.
”Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn’t not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a NIV
This verse starts off, making me feel so warm and I find myself nodding and smiling and thinking about how good it is, but as the list continues I begin to remind myself, this isn’t just the goodness coming MY way but this is what Jesus is asking me to do to OTHERS.
“Oh.”
Here’s the coolest part, he doesn’t expect us to do this alone or even with our own abilities and skills. He comes alongside and gives us all the tools we need to love. He is here holding our hand as we give out patience, or hope or kindness. He’s loving us, as we are his hands and his feet, and go over to the neighbor, co-worker or stranger and share with the world (with the action of love) who he is.
That’s the point: To show the world who Jesus is by the love He gives us to hand out to them!
So that person who’s difficult to love, is loved by Jesus. And whenever we think maybe there’s a way to get out of it, we can look back at that verse and see aaaalll the ways we can love.
By being patient or kind.
By not being jealous or creating competition.
By being on the same team and forgiving each other.
By standing up for, renewing trust in, and hoping for good.
And by not letting failure to do these things be an option.
But we will fail.
However, there’s One who doesn’t. He’s got what it takes to pick us up again and get us back on track with loving each other again! It’s not about being fair or getting recognition, it’s about loving because He first loved us.
”This is love not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10 NIV
So that’s why we’re called to love each other. (Even those people who are tricky to love.) And that’s the only way we can, by turning the dial down on our loud comforts, preferences and excuses and in big and small ways loving whoever God puts in your day!
