"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these." Mark-12-31"

Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as our self. But how do we do that if there are people in our life we simply don't love?

We've all met people with whom we don't connect or people we simply don't like.

Maybe it's a mean coworker, an annoying neighbor, a rude boss, or even a family member. Let's be honest, sometimes there are people in our lives we simply don't like.

However, God tells us to go beyond loving the lovable and to sincerely love our enemies.

The question is, HOW?

HOW do we do this if our hearts are far from them?

God walked me through this when we moved into our new rental house this summer. After being in our new home for a few days my husband met the couples that lived on either side of us. When he got home he explained that both couples were very nice.

However, as I asked more questions, it was clear that neither couple knew Jesus given the "partners" they had chosen.

Now, if I had been in alignment with God at that moment then I wouldn't have gone down the dark road I turned down that night.

In all honesty, when I found out that they were living differently than how God calls us to live, I turned away from them out of fear.

I thought to myself, "gosh, I hope that doesn't rub off on our kids, I don' want them to set a bad example for them. I guess I'll just avoid them because I don't want to cause any drama. I'll just keep my mouth shut about Jesus to keep the peace around here."

Later that day I thought about what not loving them and not sharing my faith with them could ultimately mean for their eternity. If God placed us in their lives to testify about His love and goodness and I refused, it could mean they could be eternally separated from Him.

Unfortunately, in all honesty, I didn't care. And in all honesty, these are the very words I said to myself, "I don't care if they go to hell. I'd rather not stir the pot."

Friend, I CRINGE reading my honest thoughts.

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YUCK. YUCK. YUCK!

My thoughts that night were SO ugly. And God saw all of it.

A few days after our conversation Jeff and I sat down to watch some YouTube videos together. That night we stumbled upon a testimony from a Muslim who converted to Christianity after many years of researching the historical facts about Jesus.

As we listened, the Holy Spirit used something he said to convict my heart deeply.

During his testimony, he said, "my roommate was the only Christian I had ever met who cared enough about me to share the Gospel. Every other Christian I met never told me about Jesus so I was left to assume one of two things, 1. They either didn't truly believe in the Jesus they claimed to love or 2. They didn't care if I went to hell."

YEP.

He went on to explain, "If those two groups represented Christianity, I wanted nothing to do with Jesus."

Sis, this hit me like a ton of bricks. The Holy Spirit convicted me so heavily that night I actually thought my heart would stop.

"Oh my gosh, I AM that CHRISTIAN!" I exclaimed. How did this happen?!?!?

{Long exhale. Head hits desk}

HOW WICKED!

HOW WICKED my heart has become!

My thought life was SO ugly concerning our neighbors it's hard for me to write about this because I am ashamed of where my heart was at the time.

Friend, can you relate?

As you read this do an inventory of all the people God has placed in your life and honestly ask yourself, "Are there people in my life who don't know Jesus but you've chosen not to testify about Him and His love for them because you'd rather save face than share the Gospel?"

If so, we are in the same boat.

I sat there, disgusted with myself, and I reflected on times when I had overflowed with love for other people. Times when my heart DID break for the lost and times when I would go out of my way to share Jesus with anyone who would listen.

Where did THAT girl go? What happened to her? What was the difference between then and now? How do I get THAT version back?

That night I sincerely repented and I begged God to help me. I said, "Father, you call me to love others, please cleanse my heart and teach me how to love my neighbors because right now I don't."

That's when God asked me a question, the Holy Spirit said, "Kristin, when was the last time you spent time with me?"

I stopped and thought about it for quite a while. In all honesty, I couldn't answer Him because I couldn't remember the last time I had turned off the world and focused all of my attention on Him.

I realized at that moment that even though I had done Bible study with my kids each morning and periodically listened to worship music, I hadn't actually spent one on one time with Jesus in months.

Sister, I had let my worldly life overtake my relationship with God.

I had become full of myself instead of Jesus and the result was selfishness, sin, and death.

I had been too busy packing...and then unpacking...

Too busy homeschooling...and wrangling three kids...

Too busy...too busy... too busy...

FOR Jesus.

Fortunately, God in all of His Glory used my mess to teach me how to be more like Him. Here is how He reminded my heart "how" I can love my neighbors when I don't.

Think about it, where does the Word say we get: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control? Is it by working really hard at being nice? Is it by making more money? By going to school? By getting married? By having kids?

No.

Do we become LOVE by trying to be more loving?

NO.

Can we love like God in our own strength?

NO.

This is where I stumbled and where so many of us trip up on our walk with Jesus. It's such a simple concept but it goes back to God's FIRST and most important commandment.

We must LOVE. HIM. FIRST.

Sister, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control are FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT.

Not products of the flesh.

These things DO NOT come from the world. They can't. They never will.

These things ONLY come from God and from His Spirit.

Let that really sink in for a moment.

Have you been struggling to be more patient? More loving? More joyful? Etc. Etc. If so, it's a losing battle. We can't create these things. We can't muster these things up or fake it. If we do, it's only momentary and it's EXHAUSTING.

What I realized in all of this is that I had no love for my neighbors because I hadn't died to myself.

Somewhere in the midst of moving to California, I became more filled with myself than with the King of King's and the result was deadly.

Jesus tells us that we must die to ourselves DAILY.

When God asked me that question I realized I hadn't picked up my cross in months and that I didn't love my neighbors because my world had become about me, instead of Him.

Does this sound familiar?

Has life consumed you? Have you been too busy with work, with motherhood, with errands, with drama, or with life in general to REALLY love God FIRST?

Have you forgotten to spend intentional time with Him each and every day? Have you let your daily routine and tasks get in the way of Jesus?

Has your life become about YOU?

If so, don't panic, it happens to all of us. Fortunately, His mercies are new every day.

But sister, if you're reading this and thinking to yourself, "wow, that IS ME!" Don't let another day go by without repenting and asking God to help you.

Our time here on earth is the ONLY time in all of eternity that we have to serve others, to LOVE others, and to show God how much we LOVE HIM by obeying His commands.

So sis, if this resonates with you, I encourage you to remember that when we die to ourselves and simply love Him first, His Holy Spirit comes alive in us and it's by HIS Spirit we can love the people around us and fulfill the great commandment.

In other words,

WE CAN'T WALK LIKE JESUS, WITHOUT JESUS.

So, if you are running low on any of the fruits, die to yourself and go spend some time with your Father.

Love,

Kristin