When considering the commandment to love one another, it's easy for us to think of love in terms of the affection we have for spouses, children, family members and friends. The natural attachment we have to our "loved ones" is not the same kind of love we demonstrate to others. Loving outsiders and strangers -- giving them preference, inviting them into our lives and not judging them -- is difficult and can only be achieved when God's love resides in us, and we concentrate on developing and training that love, so that it flows out of us in useful and meaningful ways.
The writings of Oswald Chambers always challenge me to be better and do better, and here is an excerpt from his excellent book, "My Utmost for His Highest" regarding the difficulties of loving others:
"...God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, '...love one another as I have loved you' (John 15:12). He is saying, 'I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you.' This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable -- it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated."
It is exhausting to try to love difficult people without cultivating the love of God which resides in us. By myself, I have trouble loving those whose opinions differ from my own, and certainly those who are rude, arrogant and hateful are not easy to love. However, we are called to love everyone, and to do so with the knowledge that God has loved each of us beyond measure, even with all of our faults, and we all have at least a few.
Chambers concludes, "Am I prepared to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness will be continually poured out through me? Neither natural love nor God's divine love will remain and grow in me unless it is nurtured. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained through discipline."
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