Love Breaks Through

I had a conversation today with someone that I did not think liked me.  I had done my best to be loving toward her and every time she shut me down.  In the past she had said some things to me that had been slightly hurtful, and she never seemed to like me coming around.  And yet today things were different.  Today she was hurting, and needed someone to care about her.  And all the love that I had shown her over the past few years of knowing her broke through.  In our conversation she was open, and we joked and goofed around, and I told her that I would pray for her.

Earlier today, I asked Jesus to help me see Him when I interact with others.  To love them as I would love Him because of how much He loves me.  Today what I got to experience was one of those rare moments when continuous love extended toward someone made a difference and allowed me to be there for her when she needed me.  It made me feel good to see something positive come from all the negatives I had experienced in the past.

There is so much hate in our world, and Jesus called His followers to show love.  Often we try to fight fire with fire, and we lash back at those who disagree with us and label them haters.  But we are guilty of the same transgression.  This is one of the reasons the world is repelled by the church, we don’t show love but instead push back with hate for anyone who is different.  The truth about love is that it rarely breaks down barriers quickly, but over time it can lead us to a place where we can spread the peace of Christ to those around us.