Called to Love

Called to Love You’ll never fully agree with another person—because there’s not a single person just like you. That means there won’t be anyone with your exact viewpoint on life, politics, money, relationships, or religion. You are unique, and so is the person next to you. But even though we're all different, we are still called to love each other. Jesus Himself has said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34 NIV).  When Jesus commanded us to love others, He didn’t say that we had to agree with people first. In fact, in the book of Matthew, He specifically tells people to love even their enemies (Matthew 5:44). So if love is for everyone, what does love look like? Love considers others first. Love looks for the best in people. Love shows respect. Love seeks unity. Love isn’t selfish. Love displays patience. To love means to give of yourself. Love involves revealing your heart to people who could potentially wound it, and thinking about the needs of others before we think of our own. Loving others in this way isn’t easy—but it’s how Jesus loves us.  When we love people like Jesus, we reflect His love to the world, which helps build His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.  There will always be things we have to “agree to disagree on.” There will always be people we don’t understand or relate to. There will still be times when we get hurt, or unintentionally hurt others. But Jesus’ command to love people wasn’t reliant on our feelings or circumstances.  So if we want the world to be radically transformed by His love, then we need to learn how to put our differences aside, and love each other like Jesus loves us.