“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7  NIV

As Christians, we are reminded time and time again to love our friends, to love our enemies, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. But there is one situation that no one ever seems to address: what about people are just plain difficult to love? What about the people who get on our nerves, wear us out, or simply refuse to accept our kindness? Often, we see these kind of people as exceptions to the rule. But in reality, God calls us to love everyone in the same way that 1 Corinthians describes love – even when it’s hard. So how can we learn to do this?

Colossians 3:13 NIV says, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The first step to loving someone is to forgive them. How can we love someone when in our hearts, we are still harboring anger or bitterness over something they have done? Maybe they’ve hurt us in a huge way, or maybe their irritating habits have just become unbearable. No matter the case, we have to see these people beyond their flaws and mistakes, with the grace of Jesus. All of us can be difficult at times. But just as Jesus forgave us, we should also forgive those who have wronged us.

We also have to realize that most of the time, people aren’t trying to be difficult. And if they are, they simply need love even more. We’re all human, and deep inside we all want the same things: to be valued, to be understood, and to be happy. The people who seem so different from us are actually more like us than we think. In fact, scripture says that we are all made in the image of God. Knowing this, we should strive to treat them with the same kindness that we would want to be treated with. Consider the words of Ephesians 4:32  NIV:  “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” The theme of forgiveness can be seen yet again, linked to the idea of compassion.

Compassion means seeking to understand what our peers are going through. It means looking past the surface and seeing that just like us, they have fears and insecurities that can only be remedied with love. So though it may seem hard to love someone at first, it is so rewarding to overcome our inhibitions and follow the call of Christ. For when we love others, we reflect the image of He who first loved us.

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