It is a privilege to love the undeserving. This is something I have been reminded of lately, and I believe it is a beautiful lesson in the making.
Often times, I find myself loving and caring deeply for people who simply do not feel the same way. This can be hurtful at times, and my natural tendency is to question what’s wrong with me, as if the underlying cause for their lack of affection is my inadequacy. But honestly, sometimes people don’t feel the same way because they don’t know how or they are afraid. It has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with them. They are afraid of seeming too emotional, or they have been hurt before and don’t want to take the risk again. Either way, whatever the cause may be, I frequently notice that I have relationships where I care more for the other person than they do for me.
Sometimes this can be frustrating. I often get to a point where I want to give up and stop caring, because let’s be honest…it kinda sucks. I got to that point with someone recently, and the Lord reminded me that it is a privilege to love those who don’t love me to the same extent. It is a privilege to be able to demonstrate a love that is unconditional, that can be trusted, and that calls people to step into their true identity. It is a privilege because it is a small picture of the love Christ gives us.
He loves me fiercely. I have spoken against him, been ashamed of him, walked away from him, outwardly disobeyed him, doubted his existence, and a bunch of other things that make me a terrible, undeserving object of his affection, and still he pursues me. Still he loves me with an unconditional love that can be trusted and calls me to live in the fullness of who he made me to be.
I’ve been given a beautiful capacity to love. I’ve been given this love so that I can let people know that they are seen and known and their presence is appreciated. I have been given this love so that I can point out the beautiful things in people that they have forgotten about themselves. I have been given this love so that people can know that they are worth it, that someone has fought hard for them even when they didn’t deserve it. I have been given this love so that ultimately someone can experience God through me.
The verse I’ve been reminded of lately is Philippians 1:29.
“For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.“
So I won’t give up. I will keep loving people even when they don’t love me back. I will keep telling people why I am thankful they are alive. I will keep going out of my way to love people who may not, in the worlds eyes, deserve it, and I will do it because it is worth it for them to know even a fraction of the love my God has for them. And I will count it all as a privilege.
