Loving the Unlovely

Some people are impossible to love—but that’s no excuse not to love them.

You know that person in your life that you do everything you can to avoid? The one who gets under your skin? The schmuck that you’re pretty sure only God can love? Yeah, that one. We all have a person—or if you’re really lucky, several—in our lives like that, and for good reason.

It’s the unlovely that will make you lovely if you let them.

 I’m not saying it’s easy, though. In fact, it’s gut-wrenchingly hard to tolerate the irritating people in our lives because, doggone it, it’s just not comfortable. It’s abrasive, and more often than not, downright hurtful. Worse, even if you pour yourself out to be kind and loving toward a real jerk of a human, there’s no guarantee they will change into a gentler soul…but you will, because here’s a little secret:

It’s in loving the unlovely that our own character is refined.

So today, think of that one person in your life who grates you the wrong way and do something nice for them. Drop an email. Shoot a text. Maybe even bring them flowers or mail them a gift card with a note that says you simply hope they’re having a lovely day. If you’re really brave, you could dig deep and come up with something to encourage them. A verse. A quote. Anything. Sure, they don’t deserve it. Not one bit.

But neither did you when God hung on a cross for your sins.