Loving with Authenticity

There are some people who are just, well, unlovable. They always seem to irritate others.

It may be that God has placed one of these people in your life. You might even be married to one of them. Or, maybe every day you deal with a coworker in the cubicle next to yours or someone who sits by you in class.

Writing to the believers in Rome, Paul said, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9 NKJV). That means we are to genuinely love people.

For instance, Judas Iscariot looked as though he was so devout. On one occasion he seemed to be concerned for the needs of the poor. But in reality he was pocketing the money the disciples carried together.

And then he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. He could have done it with a handshake. He could have done it by pointing to Christ and saying, “That’s Him!” But instead, he did it with a kiss. And it wasn’t just one kiss. In the original language it could be translated, “He kissed Him repeatedly.”

Ironically, at the moment Judas Iscariot seemed the most devout, he actually was the most devious. It wasn’t love at all.

You might be saying, “Well, I don’t feel love for this person, and it would be hypocritical of me to do loving things for them when I’m not feeling the love in my heart. Therefore, I won’t do anything loving toward them at all.”

That is not what Paul is saying. He was saying that we should be loving to that person while we repent of being unloving. In other words, do loving things whether you feel it or not, and you’ll find that your emotions will catch up.

We show real love in what we do.