“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance”.
 - 1 Corinthians 13                                                    Â
While these verses are normally read out at marriage services I believe to leave them there exclusively would do the writer, Paul, a discredit. Jesus didn’t ask, but commanded us to love everyone. Wow! What was he thinking? How can I love everyone? Fortunately for us, God doesn’t ask to do this in our own strength- because of God’s love for us and through the empowering of the Holy Spirit we can live our lives with the ability to love all that we come into contact with.
 Love has to be a deliberate choice
Loving your enemy is unfortunately not an optional extra that Jesus added in as a nice sentiment. Our culture tends to think of love as mainly an involuntary feeling and not a conscious action, meaning this foundational skill is often missed entirely. Love needs to an active, daily, deliberate choice. It is our love for people that will radiate Gods glory and magnificence the most. Jesus said Christians would be easily identifiable by how they love each other and the world.
 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked”.
So how can we love everyone? During the last supper Jesus was sharing a meal with people that were about to betray, deny and desert him. And he knew it. In spite of this, He loved them. He stopped eating, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist and began to wash the disciples’ feet. Right here, we see love as an action and in action. I wonder whose feet we need to metaphorically wash and demonstrate love to?
Following Si’s talk on love, I pray that we’re a generation that is known for its radical unconditional love. May everyone we come into contact with leave feeling built up, loved and accepted. Sounds hard? Will we get hurt? Is it a risky? Defiantly, yes. However, I believe that understanding how Gods love transforms and enables us to love anybody is the key to being able to love people.
