Loving others not always easy to do
- Kyle Snyder: Live on Purpose
- February 13, 2023
- 493
“But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” —Matthew 5:44
Two weeks ago I went to the doctor because I could barely walk on my own. It turns out I pulled my hamstring in my left leg. I don’t enjoy sitting still, so this is like torture for me. I even miss doing housework. Now you know it’s bad when you miss doing housework.
The first week I kept having muscles spasms. It was so bad it felt like my leg was locking up on me. We went to my mom and dad’s house for Sunday lunch, and we talked all afternoon. I sat in a kitchen chair the whole time. Then when I got up to go home, I couldn’t walk. It was like someone hit the back of my knee with a pipe. My dad helped me into the living room and on to the recliner and put a heating pad under my leg. When I felt good enough to go home, they followed us and helped me into our house.
My wife Stacey has been great throughout this time. She gets me food and drinks, and when I try to do something, she tells me to take it easy. I don’t like to have people waiting on me hand and foot, but Stacey has been my rock through it all. It is so easy to love people who love us back. We want to do so much for them, and we know if we are in need, they will be there to help us out.
What about all those people who get under our skin and drive us absolutely up the wall? It is too easy to just write them off and have nothing to do with them, but we should remember they too are made in the image of God. When we hate people, it’s like we hate the very image of God.
I think we can be mad at the situation but know they have the right to see it from their point of view. A situation doesn’t feel, talk, change by itself, or care about anyone or anything. We must learn to separate the situation from the person. The situation may be the worst thing ever, and the other people involved might have horrible ideas, but who is to say we don’t have horrible ideas from time to time? Plus, we all have the right to be heard.
One thing I am trying to do more of is pray for people who get under my skin. I won’t lie to you. It’s a fight. The last thing I want to do is to ask for blessings for people who hurt me.
However, there is something about letting go and praying for people who hurt us that is freeing. Letting go and letting God handle our problems with others is liberating. We don’t have to always be right, but we should always try to love, even when it hurts.