Faith is loving the unlovable because God first loved us - Lord increase our faith
If it seems like I am repeating myself, you may be right. The topic of Love and the various ways of looking at it (loving God, loving our neighbor and loving our enemy) cannot be stressed enough in the Christian walk. We are to be walking talking examples of Christ; especially in our love.
Jesus talked to and encouraged those people who most Jews would reject or avoid. He talked to the Roman occupiers (and called a Roman Centurion a man of great faith), to lepers, to blind people to a Samaritan woman (a double whammy because both Samaritans and women were to be avoided by Jewish men). He partied with tax collectors (basically Roman sympathizers and traitors) and other sinners. He visited the poor and the rich. There was no one that Jesus wouldn't talk to. He showed compassion for the downtrodden and those rejected by Jewish society and he gave to super religious a tongue lashing.
In his Sermon on the Mount recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, he said a very disturbing thing. He said, "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" In other words being nice to those who are nice to you has no special value in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is challenging us to love those who are unlovable. In a sense, He is saying, " This is the kind of love that matters."
We cannot do this in and of ourselves. We need to Love of God, Jesus' example and the power of the Holy Spirit to do this. God loves us, He demonstrated that in Jesus' death on the cross and He has given us His Holy Spirit so that we might live the life He lived. So I encourage you to look for those people that are difficult to love: in the workplace, the marketplace and even in your family, and love them the way Christ would. Invite Jesus into that moment and see what He can do through you.
Lord, you demonstrated Godly love in loving the unloved of your time. Lord,
help us to love the unlovely with your Love demonstrating the power of you Love in faith - Lord, increase our faith.
