Cornerstone is in the middle of a great series called Weird, where we are inviting people into a discussion of what it means to live in a world where things are not working the way we would like them to. Over the next week I will be sharing 7 devotional thoughts on how to get traction in loving our enemies.
BATTLE FOR LOVE
Have you ever felt like it was a battle to love someone? Maybe it is after a family gathering or the third time this week that the person blew you off, or right after you check your kids grades or that annoying neighbor parked in the wrong place again. We want to believe that loving people is easy, but the truth is loving people is a battle. Loving people effectively involves not only wanting to love someone, it demands the will to love them, to battle through feelings, past experiences, unmet expectations to express love to people.
Read Matthew 8:23-27. The disciples had just witnessed Jesus do miracle after miracle. They had a front row seat to everything that Jesus was about. And then they go for a boat ride, Jesus takes a nap, it gets a little stormy, and the disciples freak out. They get anxious and start to panic and then wake Jesus and plead with Him to do something. Jesus wakes up and responds with a direct statement to the disciples, “You of little faith, why are you afraid?” Through the disciples interactions with Jesus, we get a great picture over and over again on how loving people is a battle. Jesus taught them, was vulnerable with them, gave them an amazing gift of seeing miracles and consistently they would end up doubting or challenging Jesus. In all of that Jesus never stopped loving them.
For Today: We need to realize that loving people is a battle, it will require work, patience, and at times a whole lot of grace. Start by making a list of areas or events in your life where you didn’t follow Jesus’ best plans for your life or where you walked away from Him. Go through that list and thank Jesus for each time that He continued to battle to love you by forgiving you. Now make a list of people that you battle to love. Go through that list and ask Jesus to give you His heart for each of those people. Get ready to battle – love is worth it!