What happens when you don’t feel an overwhelming love for people? Does it mean there’s something wrong with your commitment to the Lord?
The simple fact is, we come across many people who are not easy to love—individuals who may be challenging, irritating, or rude. And it’s quite natural to react negatively to such people.
Yet Jesus’ simple summary of God’s law for His people was this—Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–39). And Scripture gives further direction as to who is our neighbor.
We find it’s not just those who are loveable. In fact, it’s often those who are the most unlikely to be “deserving” of our love.
Loving those people, according to Scripture, is how we fulfill God’s law.
But Scripture also points out that in ourselves we are incapable of fulfilling the law. By our own strength we cannot love our neighbors as ourselves.
So, if you don’t feel overflowing love for people, welcome to the club! That’s part of being human—we cannot love as God has called us to love.
But all is not hopeless. By our own strength it is impossible, but God says that His love is shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Spirit.
So we find that loving your neighbor is a matter of obedience to God’s command, and it’s your dependence on the Spirit that allows you to begin to love the unlovable.
It’s a miracle of His grace!