Tonight’s segment of the radio/internet broadcast, “Night
Sounds” spoke to the issue of relationships.
The late Bill Pearce took up the topic of the possibility of
disliking people with whom we have to do, but loving them, nonetheless.
A seeming impossibility.
Jesus encountered any number of people on his 33 year journey
with whom it was obvious they had no redeeming characteristics of which to
like. Jesus often came into contact with the Pharisees, (who possessed that
very un-redeeming, dislikeable trait of believing they were “fair, you see”). And
we remember one encounter when He accused them of being “white-washed tombs
full of dead men’s bones.”
Could there be any question that he didn’t like them?
And Mr. Pearce went on to speak about the mistaken belief among
most of us that if we don’t like a person, we cannot love them. For after all,
we naturally think of “like” as preceding “love.”
During the course of my long life, however, especially given
that I am a pastoral counselor, I have arrived at the realization that it is
more about not liking their behavior, than it is about not liking the person.
I can dislike the person’s demeanor and behavior, and still
extend God’s supernatural love towards the person.
Love is less a feeling, and more an “on purpose” sorta thing. I
don’t have to like loving an individual. I just have to fulfill God’s expectation
that I do it anyway.
We love best with our words and actions.
By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 15. Copyright Volumes 1-15
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