Loving People Who Aren't Easy to Love

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A black blues musician walks into a room to sit down

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with members of the Ku Klux Klan. Robes, hoods and men who openly

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despise people who look like him. Most of us would run the other

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way, wouldn't we? Or at least keep our distance. But for years,

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Darryl Davis has done the opposite. He's chosen to listen,

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ask questions and build relationships with people who

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see him as the enemy. In a world that says cancel them, hurl

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insults back or cut them off, why would someone willingly

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spend time with people who insult his very existence?

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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger and

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today we're talking about something every one of us faces:

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people who are hard to love. It might not be someone in a robe

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and hood. It might be the coworker who criticizes

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everything you do. Or the family member who pushes your buttons.

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Maybe it's a neighbor who seems determined to misunderstand you.

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or the person online who comes at you in the comments. It might

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even be someone who has deeply wounded you. That's not a

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suggestion, that's a command. And it's one of the most

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counter-cultural things Jesus ever said.

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Most of us are fine, loving people who love us back. We're

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kind to those who treat us well. But Jesus doesn't stop there. He

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goes straight to the people we'd rather avoid, our enemies, maybe

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our critics, our persecutors, those who drain us, offend us,

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or possibly even scare us. Love your enemies. Now that's not the

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same as approve of what they do or pretend evil isn't evil. It

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means to will their good, to see them as a person made in God's

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image, not just as a label or an enemy. Pray for those who

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persecute you. That means bringing them before God, asking

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Him to work in their hearts and in yours. Why would Jesus ask

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that of us? Because that's exactly what He did for us. The

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book of Romans says, While we were still God's enemies, Christ

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died for us. Before we ever confessed, before we ever

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repented, Jesus moved toward us in love. On the cross, He prayed,

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"Father, forgive them for the very people who are mocking and

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killing Him." So when He tells us, "Love your enemies, pray for

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those who persecute you," He's not asking us to do anything He

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hasn't already done. He's inviting us to reflect the love

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we've received. Loving people doesn't mean you never set

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boundaries. It doesn't mean you put yourself in danger or stay

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in abusive situations. Sometimes, love looks like distance and

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saying no to sin and harm. But even from a distance, you can

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choose not to hate. You can choose to pray instead of curse,

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to forgive instead of stew, or to forgive. Most of the time,

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this can start small. It might mean pausing before you fire off

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that angry email. It might mean asking God, "Help me see this

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person the way you see them." It might mean praying, "Lord, I

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don't feel love for them, but I'm asking you to love them

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through me." Instead of meeting hate with hate, Darryl Davis

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keeps showing up with patience. He engages his enemies with

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conversation and a stubborn kind of love. Over time, dozens of

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clan members have left the organization, many handing Davis

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their robes and hoods as a sign of change. He's not naive about

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evil. He just believes that enemies can become friends when

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someone's willing to sit at the table and see them as a person,

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not just a label. His life is a living picture of Jesus' words

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in Matthew 5: 44, "Love your enemies and pray for those who

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persecute you." A quiet, radical choice to reflect the love he's

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received, even toward people who are anything but easy to love.

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You and I may never sit across from someone in a clan robe, but

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we will sit across from people who will get on our nerves and

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oppose our beliefs, maybe talk behind our backs, or criticize

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our choices. And in those everyday moments, we have the

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mirror the culture's response, cancel, attack, avoid,

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or we can mirror Jesus' response, love, pray, and trust God with

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the outcome. That's the challenge. Here's today's

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challenge. Bring one difficult person to mind. Not just an

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abstract group. I want you to think about and envision a real

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face, a real name. Maybe it's the person you're dreading to

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see at work. The relative who always sparks conflict or maybe

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someone who's hurt you. Today, instead of rehearsing what they

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did, take one minute to pray for them. You can simply say, "Lord,

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you know how I feel about this person. You know what they've

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done. Please work in their heart and please work in mine. Help me

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to love them the way you've loved me." You may not feel

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different right away. But that's okay. Love for difficult people

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is often built one small prayer at a time. Lord, you know the

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people who are hard for us to love. You know every wound,

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every irritation, every harsh word. Lord, that thank you, that

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when we were your enemies, you moved toward us in love. Teach

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us to reflect that same love, to pray instead of curse, and to

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see people as you see them, and to trust you with the rest. In

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Jesus' name, Amen. Someone else you know might need this episode

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today. Just send them the link from the show notes. Thanks for

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joining me today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

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Remember, Jesus doesn't just call you to love easy people. He

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calls you to love and pray for the hard ones too, reflecting

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the radical love you received. This is time for more

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encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until

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then, God bless and have a great day.