You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 NLT
Personally, I see so much division, disrespect, and dislike in the world around me. There are days, truthfully, I feel like I am living in a different world than the world in which I was a wonder-filled wide-eyed young girl. There are so many “us vs. them” divisions and no end to the “those people” to suspect, ignore, and dismiss.
As overwhelming and disheartening as it is, however, whenever and wherever in history people do not follow the law of Jesus, the law of love, this is the natural result. When Jesus was here in person, in the flesh, the people around Him were prone to do the same things that defeat us. The normal way of relating and reacting was to love the ones who love you but hate the ones who hate you or just aren’t like you. Sound familiar? You have seen it and probably participated in it to some level.
There are “those people” you want to avoid because they are inconvenient or uncomfortable. You may call it boundaries, but there’s really nothing destructive about them. You just don’t enjoy them. There are “those people” who are not your friends. Their politics, behaviors, opinions, and lifestyles are so different you just have little tolerance for them. There are “those people” who mistreat you in one way or another. There are “those people” who are morally quite different, so how could you be expected to willingly associate with them?
There was a period in church growth circles where experts generally recommended churches recruit an “homogenous unit” – to pick a specific target like “upper middleclass business” and focus on them. The church would grow faster and larger and stronger if there was a specific target growth group. By and large, it worked. But does that sound like Jesus? No … He said even people who are “pagans” (or to fit our analogy) or businesspersons do that. If you are kind to just your friends, yet avoid others, how different are you from anyone else? How much like Jesus are you? Are you committed to love and seek others like your Father in heaven? He loves, shares His resources, and seeks relationships with very different people. Will you?
- Jesus, help me recognize and love those people you put in my path.