I'm Detecting a Theme...

Jul 16, 2006 22:42

Okay, so obviously I have been thinking a lot about relationships...for the last...long while. This question has been one that has really caught my attention:
How do you love someone you just don't get along with?

I mean, let's just be real for a minute. You aren't going to get along with everyone. That is life. But there is that finer than fine line that goes between loving someone and simply giving someone the respect and love they deserve but not going out of your way for them.

Every single person deserves respect and love. Or, think about it this way, every single person deserves all the same things you deserve. What do you wish for yourself? Happiness, love, peace, prosperity, friendships, joy, a great job, a loving family, a nice house...

Who knows who these people are to you, to me...those people that you love because you need to and they deserve it, but not because you necessarily want to. Or, in many cases, you simply just don't 'mesh' with that person - so you do what you need to do to ensure you are respecting them, but don't bother to go out of your way.

All of this is quite natural. No one has enough time, energy or resources to go out of their way for every individual they come in contact with. And sometimes, personalities just don't mix. But then there's the ticket - how in the world do you make sure that you are loving them? If these people are those who you don't necessarily mesh with, it is likely you will become easily agitated around or with them. I think that is simply human. But how does one suppress those feelings of frustration and continue to conduct oneself in a way that is full of integrity and love? And where is that line between loving someone and going out of your way for someone?

There is that phrase - unconditional love. UNconditional Love. Now that is a toughy. And you know why? Because every single person deserves it. Everyone deserves to be loved unconditionally. Humanly speaking, sometimes we just suck at loving people. We always have to criticize. Or hold grudges. Or judge people. Or choose not to forgive people. I suck at it all the time. All the time I blow it. And here I am talking about sucking at loving people who I truly love with all my heart. And if I can't manage to love those who are close to my heart, how is it possible to love those who are merely acquaintances or friends of the past...

We were talking about this at roommate bible study a couple weeks ago. We were talking about if there have every been people who you just can't stand - and how are we called to treat them. That is when I brought up the unconditional love vs. you can't go out of your way for everyone thing. The only example I could think of was something along the lines of:
--Say someone you really don't get along with comes to your apartment. You let them in and they start spilling this sob story of heartache and sorrow that is present in their life. It is only right, if they have come to you and desperately need your listening ear, to listen to them, to show them love in their time of need. However, it isn't as if you need to go out and buy them flowers and a gift card because they are having a crappy week (which you might do for someone else). You simply can't do that for everyone.--

However, I now go back on my previous position. Did Jesus not love everyone, unconditionally and as much as He possibly could, that came into His path? Is this not the example we are to follow?? Granted, we are humans and simply seeking after the lifestyle He has presented. So, in this already but not yet world, we will never achieve perfection, and thus, our relationships or our attitudes towards our relationships will never be perfect. But I don't think it is right to simply accept that they will never be perfect and move along making the best of things...we are to constantly seek after Christ, know Him more, become more and more the image of our Creator. So does this mean we seek to love every single person to the best of our ability, even go out of our way for them? I guess I am greatly persuaded towards saying yes but knowing that prayer and my Saviour and going to be going along with me as I seek to even attempt this.

And that's all I've really got. I mean, I could honestly talk about this, or talk about anything really, forever. I love just thinking through stuff, contemplating, hearing other people's views...it is really quite fascinating - how one topic can be viewed in so many different perspectives...what an amazing God we have to give us such imaginative and creative minds!

These aren't all my thoughts. Simply the thoughts that came out before my mind decided I didn't have enough energy to continue. Maybe I will come back to it at a later date.
To close: 1 John 4:7-21
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

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