Somebody once said:
“You can never look into the eyes of someone that God does not love. Always be kind.”
How true this is!
Every person is loved by God. Every person is made in God’s image. Every person should be loved as they are – as a child of God. This is certainly how Jesus treated those he met.
At one level it is easy to give mental assent to the statement. However, it can be extremely challenging when the people we meet are angry, violent or oppositional to our religious or other position. These people are loved by God too. Our challenge is to love them despite their anger or opposition. Sometimes these ‘difficult to love’ people are others in the church. Our Lord’s command remains, “love one another as I have loved you”. (John 13: 34)
Grace and peace to you all.
Chris