Loving Others

There are people we come in contact with who we don't go out of our way to love - maybe it's a boss who's unappreciative, a controlling family member, the person who pushes their opinions, the loner who no one else talks to. We all know someone whose differences make it hard to show them love.

It's not always in us to love certain people. We can't make ourselves feel a love that's not there, but the good news for us is love really isn't a feeling, but rather a choice. Love is an action - it's what we do.

When everyone else is gossiping, we can choose not to engage in it.
When everyone else walks past the homeless person, we can choose to stop.
When everyone else is complaining, we can choose to give thanks.
When everyone else is speaking out of anger, we can choose to speak words of kindness.

True love doesn't blend in with the norm--it stands out. God never intended for us to live a normal life, but rather an extraordinary one that brings glory to His name. When we are loving others, we are ultimately loving Christ.

Jesus says in Matthew 25:40 - "...Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
Likewise, He says in verse 45 - "whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."

Francis Chan writes about this passage in his book "Crazy Love." Here's what he says about it:
      "How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ--the person driving painfully slow in front of me, the checker at the grocery store who seems more interested in chatting than ringing up my items, the member of my own family with whom I can't seem to have a conversation and not get annoyed?
      If we believe that, as Jesus said, the two greatest commandments are to 'love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind' and to 'love your neighbor as yourself,' then this passage has a lot to teach us. Basically, Christ is connecting the command to 'love God' with the command to 'love your neighbor.' By loving the 'least of these,' we are loving God Himself."