love them anyway – not because you can, but because He can

for my people pleasers:

Jesus was the only perfect human to exist, and people still hated Him, cursed Him, and called Him fake.

He loved them anyway.

some people will twist that John 6 scripture, “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” to make it sound like you are supposed to treat people the way they treat you.

if anyone tells you that’s how it goes, they missed it.

Jesus is careful with his words, and that’s not what He said. He said “do unto others as you would HAVE them do unto you.”

treat people the way you want to be treated, not the way they might “deserve to be treated.”

make them feel included.

make them feel heard in a room full of people.

compliment their strengths.

speak highly of them in their absence.

but most importantly, LOVE THEM.

we are called to love above all else. do not waste time pointing out people’s flaws or focusing on them, because you, too, have your own.

we are not perfect. we weren’t called to be, and regardless of our amount of obedience – we still cannot be perfect. but we can be redeemed. and we are in Christ alone.

change your actions and it will help change your heart.

it’s not about “being the bigger person,” it’s about being the version of yourself God called you to be.

but with this, accept that you can do everything according to the law and people are still not going to approve of you or return the favor, but do it anyway. do it for your heart. do it because of His.

rest in the fact that you are being the best version of you, regardless of you or anyone else.

this has been a hard pill to swallow for me over the past 2 years of my life, and sometimes it still doesn’t go down – but with practice, and patience for myself, it has gotten easier.

give yourself some grace, but give it to others too.

God has given us plenty.

i am so far from perfect, and i fail often. but learning how i would like to mindlessly react is one step in the right direction.

it’s one step closer to being the christian I was called to be.

but God loves us all the same – regardless. that’s who He is – and who I long to love like.

EDIT:

it is the morning after God laid this message on my heart. i went to sleep last night thinking that i missed something, and i woke up this morning knowing that i did. i didn’t know what, and i even texted katie – asking if she had read it and what i missed. to which she responded with a question mark, so i assume she didn’t know either. but then it clicked. we can’t figure it out, but it’s there. the feeling of unfinishedness was given to me from God, and I couldn’t finish it; and Katie couldn’t finish it. but God could. so the finishedness will come from prayer.

Hey, God.

I knew something was wrong. You told me it was. Even though this is how you said to respond, I still don’t. It’s hard because I rely on my own strength. Sometimes I feel as though having a relationship with you changed me, but it didn’t. I am still the sinner. You are the forgiveness. You are the mercy. You are the grace. So I pray that I don’t try to fix it, but I pray that I will have faith that you will. That I will respond to unkindness with love not because I can, but because YOU can Lord. because I was reborn with your Holy Spirit, you can overpower the me in me to love those who may not love me. to have faith that the shame I still posses at times is to be overshadowed by your mercy and forgiveness. that I don’t do it for you, but that you do it for me – because you love me.

Amen.

– Kristen Denton