Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. ~Galatians 6:2 (NLT)
The law of Christ is to love others...period. No ifs, ands or buts about it. We have no excuses and there should be no doubts about what has been said. Jesus tells us in John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (ESV) You can paraphrase that as “if you love me, you will love them”. In “them” He means everyone, including the difficult people. You know the ones…those people who just seem to rub you wrong. The modern term would be “sandpaper people”. Sandpaper people are the ones that scratch us up a bit, they go against our grain because they act differently than we do and believe differently than we do. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t serving a purpose for God in our lives and there is a good chance God could be using them to refine us and smooth out our own rough edges. We might not think we have rough edges, but we do, and a great indicator is how easily we become impatient with others or how quickly we can become angry when people aren't doing things "our way". A short fuse is an indicator of an immature spirit. We have to become spiritually mature and not allow the little aggravations others may cause to become big issues in our lives because those issues can keep us from doing the Lords will. Growing up spiritually means we are being led by the Holy Spirit in all we think and do. Having a mature spirit enables us to pursue righteousness and love and peace and be a witness to Gods presence. God tells us in Proverbs 21:21 “He who pursues righteousness and kindness finds life, prosperity and honor.” (CJB) If that’s the case, what do you think those who pursue knit picking and enmity find?
God especially wants us to love our enemies and those who have lifestyles or beliefs contrary to our own. To do this strengthens our character and makes us more like Him. He says He sends rain on the just and the unjust. God is good to everybody, and He tells us to be good to everybody. He wants us to pray for those who persecute us, those who treat us unfairly and He wants us to love the unlovely. Praying for mean people can be a bitter pill to swallow, but it goes down easier when we remember we at one time or another have been someone else’s “sandpaper person”. Did you ever have a season where you were so religious nobody could stand to be around you? How about selfish? How often do you want people to do and act the way you expect them to and not giving them any room for mistakes? There is no doubt we have all been an aggravation to someone at some time. It has been said that if we will only walk, God will be pleased with our stumbles. So, stumble on today as you walk in love and pray for the people God puts in your path. Remind yourself that hurting people are the ones that are hurting people. They are the ones who need to see the love of God the most. None of us have it all right, but all of us can bite our tongue and hold our anger if it means bringing God’s love on the scene. Trust God to help you with this and know that if it is His will for you to walk in love, He will give you the strength to do it. He sees your heart. He knows your motives and He will establish your plan to walk in love.
All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. ~Proverbs 16:2-3 (NIV)
Do you struggle with someone? Have you prayed for them?
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