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It is so easy to write someone off, isn’t it? I’m not sure that we tend to give it much thought, but it is not too unusual for us to cross pathways with someone who has hurt us and think: “I am not going to let that happen again. I don’t like the way that felt. I don’t like that person. I am going to avoid them.”

Like those who have hurt us, it is easy to have little or nothing to do with those who have strong opinions and are vocal about them. Particularly if the opinion doesn’t match my own, I find it easier to put distance between us in an effort to prevent either conflict or intimacy.

Friend, the same type of relational chasm is present with those whose personalities rub us the wrong way, those who are quirky or odd, those who come across as particularly needy or socially inept.  There are those who are written others off based on gender, nationality, religious beliefs and the color of their skin.

Let’s face it: it is easy to justify devaluing one another, and ceasing to care or invest in one another.  Whether we are basing our treatment of one another off of our hurts, or our preferences, we are quick to move on. The problem is, as followers of Jesus, we are not given that option. We are to follow the example of Jesus, not the example of ordinary man.

Max Lucado writes in his book, You’ll Get Through This, “Unlike us, God never gives up on a person. Never. Long after we have moved on, God is still there, probing the conscience, stirring conviction, always orchestrating redemption. Fix your enemies? That’s God’s job.”

Jesus said it this way: “I give you a new command. Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John13:34-35) This was not merely a suggestion of Jesus, it was a command that he gave. Jesus followers are to be “kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving” (Ephesians 4:32), “looking out not only for his own interests but the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4), “encouraging one another and building each other up” (Thessalonians 5:11), “carrying one another’s burden.” (Galatians 6:2)

We have a choice to make. We can avoid those who are not easy for us to love, or we can be intentional about investing. However, if we are seeking to follow Jesus and his example, we are called to treat each other as children of God.

When we choose to love others, to invest in them, see them, and share God’s love with them, lives can be changed. I have seen this time and time again in my classroom. Many of my students are difficult to be around when they come to me. They struggle socially, emotionally, and most of the time academically. While my focus as a teacher is expected to be academic, I’ll admit I am much more concerned about changing their emotion and social struggles. For more kids than I would like to admit, much of their behaviors come from feeling like they don’t belong, being discarded, not fitting in, feeling unloved, and going unnoticed. They are crying out for someone to invest. Someone to see them. Someone to help them. Someone to provide hope. Why have I been successful in working with difficult children? Make no mistake, it is not because of me. It is because I have been intentional to try and give them a glimpse of Jesus’ love and affection for them. They need to know that they matter not only to a teacher, but they matter to One even greater.

Our lives matter on an eternal scale, but so do the lives of others. Will we allow ourselves to take the time to invest and lead them to a deeper understanding of who Christ is? Or will we paint an image of Jesus as his followers that barely resembles him?

May we always seek to follow the examples of Jesus over the examples of ordinary man!

Blessings!