Loving your neighbour can often feel more like a chore than a privilege especially when those people do everything except earn our love, but to understand the tenet of the grace of God made available through Jesus Christ will always point to loving the most unlovable people because that's all God has ever done.
Whether it's your church mate, a friend or even a family member, some people will do things that will make us think that we can never love them the same again. It could be an offense, betrayal or negligent mistake. Whatever it is, there's often something that gets in the way of us and loving others. But even in the midst of that hurt or pain, God says it is possible to love those who are not deserving of our love.
The power of the cross serves as a reminder that there is a God who loved us to the point of sending His one and only Son - Jesus Christ - and by believing in that, God not only gives us a new example but an empowering Spirit that gives us the fruit of love so that we may love at all times.
In Matthew 5:44, Jesus commands us, "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
The motivation of all Christian practice is love. We act in overflowing and overwhelming affection towards God. If you don't find yourself feeling extra loving or extra forgiving today, chances are that you haven't had a fresh and new encounter with God's love through spending time with Him.
When we receive the love of God, only love comes out of it. Love can never beget hate towards others. When we realise how much Jesus loves us and how much He has done to prove that love, we will naturally love others.
Romans 5:5 tells us, "and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Loving others - even our enemies or the most unlovable - also comes as a result of the hope we have in God.
When we put our hope in the opinions or acceptance of others, it is easy to neglect love towards our enemies and those who hurt us. But when we put our hope on Jesus Christ to provide satisfaction, affection and acceptance, we will respond by loving even the hardest people to love because of the outflow and over-abundance of love we receive from our Saviour.
