How to Love "That" Person

You know why you are reading this blog post? I bet it's because you have a "that" person in your life. In fact, I think it might be safe to say we all have at least one of those kind of people in our lives...and maybe we even have a few. What I'm talking about is that brother or sister in Christ who just can be hard to like, let alone truly love. We know we are supposed to love them, we know we are even called to....but we find every excuse (even good ones!) for why it's best if we just avoid them or why our unkind thoughts about them are pretty much deserved...after all, they do/say the must frustrating, annoying things.

If you are anything like me, it makes my spirit restless...knowing what I ought to be doing, yet justifying what I feel like doing, then recognizing the sin in my heart...but struggling to know what it looks like to truly repent and honor the Lord in these situations. I want to live at peace with men as far as it depends on me...and sometimes it feels like the best way to do that is to just leave some people alone. Yet, God calls us to unity and, last I checked, unity actually requires uniting, not fleeing....and round and round I can go on the "merry-go-round" of thoughts. That is, until I apply 2 Thess. 2:13 to my heart and mind:

"But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth."

When I am struggling to love "that" person...here are the truths I need to apply to my heart:

1)That person is loved by God.
2)That person was chosen by God before the foundation of the world to be saved, to be adopted.
3)That person is, therefore, my brother/sister in Christ. We are family.
4)That person is filled with the Holy Spirit.
5)That person is not perfect but is being sanctified according to God's plan in God's timing, using
    His Word above all...and the church as He designed it, which includes using me in that process.

When I truly understand those truths...that God LOVES them and dwells IN them and works for their GOOD...only then can I follow in my Savior's footsteps: loving them with God's love and actually looking for the good God is doing in their life...which then overflows into thankfulness.

PLUS, if I take an honest look at the reality of it all, I am most likely "that" person in someone else's life...and I'd want them to learn to love me, too!




Comments

Cindy said…
I am often "That" person in my own life. However, I am the scale I often use to measure people. I need to put Christ on the throne of my measuring tape.