Daily Devotional - Love Includes Everyone

But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 
—Luke 6:32 NKJV

The Bible teaches us that love is the most important thing to be concerned with. It is “the main thing,” and we should let the main thing be the main thing in our lives.

Are you majoring in things that really don't matter and paying very little attention to walking in love? For many years that was exactly what I did, and the result was an unfulfilled, dissatisfied feeling that I couldn’t get rid of no matter how I tried. I had a relationship with God; I even had a ministry to others! But I was not happy and couldn’t understand why. It seemed that I had most of what I wanted in life, but joy evaded me. As I cried out to God to help me, He showed me that I had my priorities out of line. I was more concerned with how I was being treated than with how I treated others.

I believe love can be seen or not seen in how we treat people, especially people we come in contact with who don't particularly interest us or have any ability to do anything for us. According to Jesus, our love should include everybody, not just those who can pay us back. He said if you merely love those who love you, what credit do you get? Even a sinner can do that!

We don't have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to help us do easy things, but to do things that are hard and sacrificial. Loving some people is very hard. They don't act lovable or even seem to want to be loved. They certainly don't reciprocate any affection shown to them. But when we begin to treat others as we would like to be treated and not as they are already treating us, we are obeying a principle that releases multitudes of blessings into our lives and pleases God.

Love Others Today: Help me, Lord, to love everyone – even those who are difficult to love.