Mark 12:30-31 (NIV) – And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

We’ve probably all heard those words. They are repeated in multiple places in the bible, such as in Matthew 22:37-39 and in Luke 10:27. It’s a strong challenge, I don’t think there’s any question there. I’d like to give you one example where this is a challenge in my own life, and maybe you can relate.

My pet cats.

Now, I know, cats aren’t people. But they are still God’s creation, and I think they give us a great teaser of what we need to be prepared to do. If you’ve never owned a cat (or similarly behaved pet), you’ve probably still heard the jokes about cats being brats. They knock things off counters, they barf on the carpet, they shred drapes, etc etc etc. Some cats really do all of these things and worse, while others are much more mild and tame. My own cats are generally very sweet creatures, and don’t cause a lot of trouble. I have noticed though that while they have a sense of good and bad, they do not have a sense of repentance.

How do I know they have a sense of good and bad? Because there are a select few places in our home they are not supposed to be. Such as army crawling up the back of the couch, or walking across the dinner table. They are very much aware of this. If I see them somewhere they shouldn’t be, I don’t even have to do anything and they will bolt. They know they aren’t allowed to do certain things, and in their mind that basically means “don’t get caught doing it”. It’s amusing to talk about, and frustrating to experience.

I’d bet we’ve all known people like that. There are people who think “no” means “yes with addendums”. There are people who act apologetic when caught in the act of something, only to turn around and do it again later without thought or care. Maybe we’ve even been guilty of these things before, consciously or not. How can we love those people? I don’t mean a step-by-step instructional (though those are very helpful too), I mean how can it possibly be done? When someone wants to walk all over us, how do we respond to that with open arms and a loving smile? It’s not easy, I won’t pretend it is. And if you feel incapable, don’t beat yourself up about it. We are limited in our capacity. We need support from a loving community. More than that, we need God.

How can we love the unlovable? It begins with prayer. God knows our struggles, and he knows when tasks are too big for us to handle on our own. Sometimes he doesn’t want us to handle it ourselves, sometimes he wants us to surrender it to him. Maybe you have someone in mind right now that’s “unlovable”. I don’t know what exact next step you are meant to take. But remember that God does, and he’s ready to help you through it. 🙂 

Philippians 4:13 (KJV) – I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Romans 5:8 (NIV) – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.