Today, I was sitting on the porch of the house we have helped build, snuggling Sheldon, the dog you may recall me writing about here. As I explained in the aforementioned blog post, Sheldon is in pretty rough shape. He’s covered in countless ticks, fleas, mats, dirt, cuts, and mange. I used to keep my distance, at most gingerly petting his head or scratching under his chin in order to avoid touching the gross parts of him. One day, I was sitting on the ground and Sheldon started crawling onto my lap, and my first instinct was to try to push him off. However, I didn’t act on that instinct immediately, and when he got onto my lap, he was the happiest I have ever seen a dog in my entire life. It was in that moment that I realized no one had ever let him sit on their lap. He sat there, too excited for his own good, and I simply pet him, not allowing myself to think of his compromised state, but instead his happiness at finally being shown the affection he deserves.
From that point on, I pet him without holding back, held him in my arms, and let him sit on my lap whenever he wanted to. Today, I did just as I have been, but while holding him, I had a slight epiphany. Seeing the happiness, comfort, and peace that emanated from him as he sat on my lap and I hugged him tightly, I knew that any ticks, fleas, or dirt that could get on me was worth it. Despite the risk of having bugs crawling on me or dirt getting on me, loving a dog that had never been shown love in the entirety of his life meant more to me than cleanliness. As I sat there, I realized that the kind of love I was showing to Sheldon is the kind of love we need to show to our fellow humans. Oftentimes, the people who need love the most are the ones we avoid – just like Sheldon – simply because loving them might get us a bit dirty.
When I say “get dirty,” I mean an array of things. It could be a quite literal meaning, similar to my example with Sheldon, like giving a hug to a homeless woman who is dirty and cannot recall the last time she showered. It could mean tolerating vulgar language in exchange for the possibility of fruitful conversation and showing that you care and are not judging the person. It could mean seeing through defence mechanisms such as arrogance or rudeness that are really hiding insecurity, loneliness, and a longing for more, showing them that you’ll love them through the hard exterior in order to see the soft interior – without tolerating being mistreated, of course. It could mean having your reputation questioned because the people you are spending your time with are viewed as having questionable character, but you know that there is something more to them.
This is something that Jesus experienced first hand.
As we all know, but often seem to forget, Jesus spent much of his time not with those deemed righteous, but with those who were the most condemned by those around them. He ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, and drunkards despite being told time and time again that they should be avoided. He didn’t care that those around him were looking down on him for spending time with such “lowly” people. He didn’t care if those he spent time with were living in sin. He didn’t view himself as above them because they were sinners and he was not. He simply saw them as people who needed love, and therefore he loved them. It seems pretty simple: love those who need love most. Unfortunately, however, that’s often not the case.
Something I have realized on this trip is that God has given me the gift of a deep desire to love the people that no one else wants to. I feel most drawn to addicts, individuals who are homeless, inmates, and others like them. People who are misunderstood, stereotyped, damned for their mistakes, or just really in need of a little grace and love. The desire to love these people is vital, but I have come to realize that the necessity of it is so often forgotten.
Rather than showing them love, people use excuses like, “they make me uncomfortable,” “it’s their fault that they’re in that position,” or “well, they’re just a bad person.” While people should certainly use their discernment to determine whether or not it is a good idea to enter a situation or build a relationship with a specific person, I think people often slap the term “discernment” onto what is actually being pushed out of their comfort zone. It seems they do this to justify not loving the way we are called to love, even if that’s not knowingly their intention.
The Bible is very clear on its command that we must love everyone; our neighbours, our enemies, and, of course, God Himself. But the catch is, not only does He call us to simply love, He calls us to love as He loves. Those are some big shoes to fill.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ~John 13:34-35
That means loving those who are like the tax collectors, prostitutes, and drunkards that Jesus spent time with. That means loving others with a love that is not lessened by their mistakes. That means loving with grace and mercy. That means loving the people that we often want to avoid.
It’s so vital not to look at others and put them into categories of the “severity” of their sins. The reality is, we are all sinners, and there will never come a time where God looks at you and says, “You look lustfully at women who are not your wife, but because that man is addicted to heroin, you are less of a sinner than he is.” or “You had premarital sex with your girlfriend, but because you’re not having sex in exchange for money, you are much more righteous than that woman over there who is.”
God sees us all as flawed individuals who need grace and a love that never wavers, no matter what we do. His love is unconditional and unending, and nothing we do will ever lessen or increase how deeply He loves us. He keeps no record of wrongs, and simply desires nothing more than to love us wherever we are. I think it’s time that we start viewing those around us in the same way.
