“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” Luke 6:27-28
Today’s Christian daily devotional
“Oh, it’s just you.” My grandfather takes no trouble to hide his disappointment as he turns his back. The front door almost closes in my face. As I shove it open with the bag of groceries as I contemplate why I even bother with my weekly visits. Although this kind of greeting is typical of him, it does not make it sting any less.
I unload the food on the counter as he stares at his television, unaffected by my presence. When a commercial pops up, he turns his head and asks what snacks I am making for him.
A surge of hostility pumps through my veins as I grab some packaged cookies and thrust it into his pillowy stomach. I don’t mind helping him out, but the fact that I am treated more like a slave and less like a granddaughter stoked the fire that I was trying hard to keep at bay.
“Do you even love me at all?” the words escaped my lips before I had a chance to stop them. He stared back at me in shock. He was hoping to get fed, not attacked.
“There are a lot of things I don’t like about you.” The words flowed effortlessly and he confirmed what I had been feeling in my heart for a long time. His cold expression said enough.
“There is a lot of things I detest about you, but that never stops me from loving you.” I fire back quickly, trying to hide my pain with my sharp choice of words.
“Do you love Emily?” I refer to my sweet sister, whom everyone seems to adore within five minutes of meeting.
“Of course!” He reacts with lightning speed as if I had asked him the most foolish question in the world.
His quick response said it all: one of his granddaughters was actually worthy of his love; the other was not.
When I read Luke 6:27-28, my grandpa is the one person that comes to mind. My gut reaction is to tell myself he never existed. I want to leave him with his favorite granddaughter and allow her the honor of serving his expanding waistline, while I find a way to love myself more. But, after reading Luke 6:27-28, I am convicted to develop my love muscles a bit more.
Loving the loveable is easy. Everybody can find room in their hearts to love a fun, sincere and gracious girl like my sister. But to take the time and trouble to reach out and love the unkind, hot-tempered, quick-tongued people takes work. And although it is painful to admit, I am sure I have inherited some unattractive personality traits just like my grandfather. Those distasteful traits never stopped God from loving me. Today, I choose to pay it forward and love my grandpa until it hurts, even if it hurts everyday.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
I never realized how hard true love really is, until I read Luke 6:27-28 and I determined to put those words into action.
I am a perfect example of someone who is hard to love. There are many qualities that I wish I could banish from my DNA forever. This very fact should keep me sensitive to others and their need for love.
I realize that the most unlovely people are probably the most hurting and love-starved people out there. They are the ones who need people to take the time and to go through the trouble for them. They need love, even if they seem to push it away.
Allow the pain of rejection to always stay with me, so I will never forget the impact that a lack of love can have on a broken heart. Show me how I can reach out to others through this pain, and choose to love no matter how much it hurts.
Jesus did it for me on that bloody cross at Calvary. Imprint my heart with the kind of love that will help me carry the cross I was born to carry. I can only do this with your help. In Jesus’ precious name, I love you, Lord. Thank you for loving an unlovely me. Amen.”
Thank you for reading today’s Christian daily devotional on verses: Luke 6:27-28
Please check back and see what we have for you tomorrow!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan