One of the greatest needs in our world and yet one of the greatest challenges involves love. Without understanding God’s love for us we face the obstacle of how to lead others with love.
We say this because God loves us for who we are and where we are, unconditionally. Unconditionally is what introduces the challenge.
As Christians who grow and nurture our relationship with God, we can easily lose sight of our past life and the expression of God’s love at the time when we were helpless, ungodly, sinners, and enemies. In this condition, Paul tells us God demonstrates His love toward us.
Notice Paul did not say demonstrated, as in past tense. The word is present active showing that God demonstrates His love now and there is no assessment of it ever ending.
To lead others to the love of God, we must demonstrate the nature of God’s love to them.
We must show love even toward those who are not always the easiest to love. Is it easy? We cannot say it was for Christ, but He did so anyway. Therefore, can we do the same?
Loving the unlovely is a huge challenge. I’ve also seen the weepy bleeding-heart type folks who are actually co-dependent personalities who, for all their good intentions, enable destructive, unproductive, and even dangerous behaviors because they lack /agape /enough to say and do what is best for the object of their love. But the point is well taken, we are not measuring up when we only love, appreciate, and serve those “like us.” Blessings, Lindell