Loving Those in Front of You

A peek into what I've been thinking about lately:

When you serve people in another country, such as Thailand, it's often easy to love the people here because they not only look different than you, but there's also this expectation that because they live in a different culture, they will also act different. Expectations coming in to work with them are usually pretty gracious...usually.

But let me ask you this, what about loving the people in front of you? I mean people like your co-workers, your boss, the man/woman who just swerved in front of your lane as you were driving, or that "annoying" family member that always seems to grate on your nerves. Oh yes, those people :)

I'm going to be honest with all of you. Before I left for Thailand, I had a job where I struggled to love several of my female co-workers. Women who should know better than to act the way they do, who pick out people and treat them cruelly because it makes themselves feel better. The kind of women that are bitter and vengeful.

And do you want to know the most terrible thing about this situation: I worked this job for 3 years, and realized last Fall that I had never learned to love them. Ever. And I knew then, that I had been sinning against God for secretly hating them, He who created them.

And as I was applying to go on this short term trip, I realized that this needed to change. How was I ever going to love the Thai people who I had never even met, if I hadn't learned to love the people I worked with every day. I would just be exchanging one set of personalities and problems for another. And so I asked God to change my heart, and for help in treating them with love. They became my "unreached people group" that needed to be reached.

And I'll admit, it was hard. Because most times I wanted to tell them off and put them in their place. But a verse I learned in my first year at university always came to mind, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1)."

These women that I tried to love for the 5 months before I left for Thailand never did accept the love I kept offering. In fact for one woman, it made her more angry, and for another she made fun of the way I was treating her. It was like a kick to the gut and very degrading. But also humbling. And I'm still learning to love them- even while I'm over here. I know I don't pray enough for them, and so I need God to remind me each day and to supply me with a love for them. Even when I'm miles away from them.

I think it's the same way in missions. Part of being a missionary is getting use to the idea of being rejected. Because not all people are going to accept Christ. But loving people despite this rejection is so important. Without realizing it, I think God has been blessing me with a taste of this "rejection" back home in this job, readying me for missions. It doesn't mean being "rejected" will get easier, but it does mean that loving people should begin meaning more to me.

I was reading in 1 Corinthians 13 and stopped at the beginning of verse 4, "Love is patient." Patience is a willingness to bear despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity. You can't be patient, unless it's a difficult situation that requires a willingness to bear (no matter the length of time). I want to love the people God puts in front of me, even the "not-so-loveable ones," but that means I need to learn patience as well. I want to willingly bear, even if it's hard, because I know love is the goal. And God is love, and I want more of God. He's worth it all.

So, my challenge to all of us, that we would all learn together to love the people in front of us- the creepy, the grumpy, the annoying, the smelly, the crazy, the scary, the overwhelming, the bitter, the hard-hearted- because our God, who is Love, calls us to something greater in this world...to love.

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." - 1 John 4:8

So come on...be a little crazy and love people with me :)