We are called as born-again believers and carriers of the gospel to love and treat with respect everyone we come in contact with no matter their position or status in life.
If we only treat people with respect whom we like or are doing what we think they should do then we have a "performance-based" love, not God's kind of Love.
Remember Christ going to the cross while we were all still sinners and dying for us there?
People will not necessarily love us back because we have love in our hearts, but they will not be able to say we didn't treat them with love and kindness if we are obeying Christ.
To be a person who loves based on performance is arrogance at its worst. These are people who think they were never unworthy of love believing they have always been good.
Everyone is unworthy of love, ourselves included but we love anyway because Christ first loved us while we were unlovable.
Loving someone God's way does not guarantee they will love Jesus because of our love or that they will love us back. We love because God told us to do it. If we do not love then we slide back into the ways of the heathen ultimately becoming a bad witness for Christ.
Let's be clear about what love is, it is doing what is best for the person who is the object of our love. It may be tender kind words as they are going through hard things or it may be a rebuke to protect them from themselves and destructive actions.
Romans 12:17-21
"17 Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people.
19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Proverbs 27:5-6 "Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful”
Many people will not be at peace with us because of their hatred toward God but we can always be at peace with them because we do not act the way they act. We do not retaliate when we are reviled. There is peace in our hearts whether or not others return peace to us.
An open rebuke is a sign of true love and friendship. Love entails many aspects, it is not what so many people think. Love is not smiling all the time nodding heads in agreement no matter what is said or done, in bobblehead fashion to be accepted by others. If we love others we are willing to take a chance on being treated disrespectfully to help someone.
We cannot change anyone else but we can be changed by Christ ourselves as we seek Him to root out of us anything that displeases Him.
Most of all we never have to fear the responses of others when we have obeyed the Holy Spirit. When our life is not about ourselves we are not easily offended. We do however choose our friends who can help us walk more closely with Christ.
May our every word and every action be guided by the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!!!
