Anyway part 2
Love them anyway. That's what I say. And I think the apostle Paul agreed with me. Our key verse for this Rant series is 2 Corinthians 12:15 in the NLT. "I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me." And my point yesterday was, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." When we say things like, "Don't cross an ocean for someone who wouldn't cross a puddle for you," what we're really doing is judging who deserves to be loved and who doesn't. But I've written about this truism at length: Those who are the hardest to love need it the most. Because they aren't getting it anywhere else. So instead of worrying about yourself--instead of "loving" from a place of trying, or expecting, to get something (which isn't really love at all)--just fill yourself to overflowing with the love of Christ. Let the mind of Christ (that's already in you) be in you. Let the love that's already inside you come out--not by forcing it out, but simply by knowing and believing that it's in there. You don't arise and shine in order to get the light. You arise and shine because your light has come. The light shines on you, and in you, and through you, and as you! And the light doesn't choose where and when to shine. Once it's turned on, it can't do anything BUT shine. Once you know how loved you are, you can't do anything else BUT love. Because that's not just what God does... it's who God is. And in the same way it's not just what you do... it's who you are! Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. And love doesn't discriminate. Everybody needs it. "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). Link that up with this, "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you" (Romans 8:11 NLT). If it's true for you it's true for all. Immutable. Unchangeable. God doesn't pick and choose who He loves. We don't have to pick flower petals and hope we land on, "He loves me" instead of, "He loves me not." There is NO, "He loves me not." There is only love. When Jesus remade the world in His image He consumed everything else and left only Himself. He gave us the Kingdom. So we don't have to act like we're in the world anymore. "In the world but not of the world" I suppose is one way to say it. We don't have to judge according to appearance. We can judge righteous judgment. We can understand that JESUS was judged, and He was judged RIGHTEOUS, and we were in Him so what's true of Him is true of us. As He is, so are we in this world. We don't have to let other people define us. And we don't have to let other people's response dictate how we act towards them. I think a lot of the time people don't know how to receive love. They think if we love them we must have an ulterior motive. But that doesn't matter. Even if they love us less... love them anyway. Because they need it. Because everybody needs it. And we have it. So we ought to share it!