Loving others as they are is the most beautiful gift we can give them.

• By candidasullivan
• May 27, 2024
• No Comments

The enemy wants me to believe that I have to do it all. He wants me to carry the problems, burdens, and even the sins of others. When it all weighs me down, he makes me think it is my cross to bear, but it’s not. 

I am not God or Jesus. I don’t have the ability to save anyone, and I can’t make anyone change or love the Lord. 

When we share with other people to change them, it doesn’t work. They feel we are pushing it on them, so they push back. We can share our faith all day with someone else, but if they are not ready to receive it, we’ve wasted our time and possibly even pushed them farther away. 

Instead of telling others about the Lord, we need to show them. We do that through love and kindness. God is love. Therefore, when we show someone else love, we show them God. 

Being strict, judgmental, and pushy doesn’t give people a glimpse of God. When I was trying to change someone by sharing scriptures and telling them the truth, so to speak, I painted them a picture of a God they didn’t like nor want. They even told me they didn’t like my God. That was one of the biggest wake-up calls for me. I had given them a negative view of God in my self-righteousness and judgments, and that truth broke my heart. 

At my lowest moments, I asked God what I needed to do. He told me to love them and live a good life in front of them. That’s it. So that’s exactly what I did.

When we change our mindset from “How can I fix them?” to “How can I love them?” everything changes. We stop seeing their sin and start seeing the soul underneath it all. If we could only glimpse their pain, we would understand it all more. 

The enemy beats them down enough. He tells them that their sin is too big for God to forgive. That God doesn’t love them. They probably feel rejected and alone. 

But none of that is true. We break through the greatest and strongest barriers with love. When we show genuine love, it reaches the heart. 

I’ve learned to fight my battles with love and prayers. God hears the groanings of our hearts that we can’t even explain. If the enemy had me bound with lies, I would want someone to fight that battle with me, pray for me, and love me through it. 

None of us are immune to the enemy’s attacks. We are all one decision away from a different life. We don’t know when Satan will land the perfect blow and cause us to drift away from the Lord. So, we must live aware that it could happen to us. 

Living this way brings about humility. 

When we think we are better than someone else, we open the door to even more pain in our lives. One day, we might have a similar experience—we might have to walk in their shoes. 

So, how would we want to be treated?

Would we want to be shamed for our circumstances or loved despite it all? Would we want our loved ones to turn their back on us because we weren’t living right or love us through it all? 

Love can cover a multitude of sins. It can move mountains, build bridges, and shine light into the darkness. 

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