Read: Numbers 4:1-5:31, Mark 12:18-37, Psalm 48:1-14, Proverbs 10:26
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
Relate: Some people are easy to like. They exude charm. Maybe they’re always smiling. Maybe they’re a bit shy but they’re always finding ways to help or serve. Maybe they are the life of the party and can make everyone feel welcome and at ease. Maybe they always have the right thing to say and are pouring out encouragement at every opportunity. Whatever it is, there are people in my life that it is very hard not to like. And then there are some others…
Some people just don’t know how to navigate the waters of social dynamics. They’re rude. They smell. They have this thing that they do and whenever I see it I just… ugh. I swear they do it on purpose because they know it gets on my nerves. I don’t know if they were just not loved enough as kids. Maybe someone dropped them on their heads or something. There are some people who just rub me the wrong way. Or maybe its me who is rubbing someone else the wrong way?
React: All three of Jesus’ closest friends were notorious for their big mouths or short tempers. He also had a couple militant radicals in his crew an IRS agent a vocal skeptic and a known thief. It almost seems as if Jesus took the marginalized, the most unlovable people and showered his love and attention on them. Actually, I know that’s true because he said himself that he has come for the sick, not the healthy. I also know that is true because he has showered his love on me.
Who is it at work that rubs me the wrong way? Which neighbor is the one everyone else tries to avoid? Who is the person at church that no one else cares to talk to much? Who is the unlovable? How can I show my love to them? How can I demonstrate to the lonely that they are not alone, to the marginalized that they belong? In what ways can I be Jesus to the ones who need Jesus the most? Can I say I love God if I will not love my neighbor?
Respond:
God, help me to show my love for You through my interactions with others. Help me to shower Your love on the unlovable. Give me patience to put up with those things that annoy me. Give me perseverance to forgive over and over those who will let me down. Give me trust and insight to understand that You are working on them just as You are working on me. Above all give me Your love, because my own is just far too selective.
THE RIVER WALK 
Loved this post, it’s something that we all, if we are honest struggle with L:)
Awesome. That is all.
It’s a struggle for me too. And you got it spot on – how can we be Jesus to those who need Jesus the most? I love how you structure your post into the 3-Rs. Very good way to study the scriptures.
We were just talking about this at the Women’s Ministry meeting… thank you for driving home just how seriously Jesus took this,
I love this! It mirrors a lot of my current pursuit. Gods grace is the true enabler for us to shed away those things that may keep us from loving more adequately. Thanks!
Well spoken and so very true! Thanks
So true we need the grace of God to love others be blessed!
Great post, I can definitely relate 🙂
Awesome post. So true….and such a good reminder. Jesus loved the unloveable….and really, if we think about, we all have something unlovable in us that Jesus redeemed. Awesome post. Awesome blog! Blessings!
Reblogged this on sonkisses's Blog and commented:
Lord knows I need help with this one 🙂
So true. Thank you for the reminder that we should love one another as Christ loves each of us.
Great post, let His love flow through us to touch the unlovable………
Pingback: A Good Challenge in Dealing With Those We Find it Hard to Love | iconobaptist
Reblogged this on iamhappyheart.
Reblogged this on The Real Malika and commented:
Pure inspiration! Thank you.
Thank you so much…I really need to remember this. There are some people who get on my nerves and some people I find myself holding grudges against (an ex, etc). Sometimes it’s hard to let go of these things but your post reminded me of how necessary it is to do so if we are to say we love God.
Reblogged this on The Prozac Queen's Court and commented:
Inspired…
Such good points and questions. Thanks for making people think. Cheers.
Beautiful post!! 🙂 We must love those whom we find hard to love too just as those who are easy to love.
Abbas Khan
A very important post. A challenge for everyone I would think– definitely a challenge for me despite the fact that I fall into marginalized categories of all sorts and I know how it feels.
This is where you don’t just SAY you are a Christian…you prove it! Great post and reminder! Thank you! Juliana
At the center of the universe is Christ. At the center of Christ is love. Undefinable love. Yet it can be “felt” in and by human experience.
Thank you for your post. There’s a sincerity to it and it aids to help define the undefinable.
Liking once post is a great way to show appreciation. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. May you have all the blessings in life!
Pingback: The Unlovable (3/5/13) | More Than Flesh and Bones
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
This passage is very problematic as many of us do not love ourselves. Feeling unloveable on our own makes it almost impossible to truly love and accept others. So love to ourselves is the third kind of love we should ask for and/or learn.
I picked your title “the unlovable’s,because I have a serious issue with those denominations that do not except gay or lesbian people into their fold either as church members or as church leaders. I see both the Catholic and Baptists as the most aggressive on this subject. It concerns me because I cannot see beyond the words “God so love the World” he didn’t say he just loved some of the World??? Or how do we address the commandment “Thy shalt not judge others”
Awesome post!