Say What, Jesus?

I love this from writer John Shore, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Simple, simple, so profoundly challenging about none of us do it.. If you have the nerve to call yourself a follower of Christ, then have the moxie to obey what Jesus unequivocally proclaimed the most important commandment of all. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And then go, Christian, go." 

Seriously can be one of the hardest things to do. Oh sure. It's easy to love the people that are nice to us. The ones that show up on time, the ones that give us compliments, that buy our lunch. 

But what about the folks that ignore us? That betray us? That belittle us? Are we supposed to love them too?

Uh, yes.

But how? I mean, how can God expect us to love--to extend grace to--someone who is irritating or mean? Or just plain undeserving (in our limited estimation)? 

That's where our need for Him and a huge helping of grace comes in.

I don't know about you, but I tend to take things personally. 

I know, it's not about me. Right, I get that. 

But I make it about me and then I miss the point. 

I miss the miracle.

I miss the fact that there is an opportunity to demonstrate LOVE and see the Almighty Love Machine in action. 

So what if someone is rude? It's probably because they're tired, lonely, worn out or on a mental vacation. Maybe they just got terminated, or they're terrified or just got turned down. 

Maybe, just maybe, they don't believe that God exists and it frustrates them that you call yourself a Jesus follower. 

Maybe they're waiting for you to show them otherwise.

Dare to show LOVE to at least one "undeserving" person today. Pray first and be prepared to be blown away. 

Based on Mark 12:30-31, say out loud:

God, help me to love You with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind and all my strength. Help me, God, to love my neighbor as myself. I know, Lord, that there is no commandment greater than these.