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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

joining me today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

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

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

the radical love you received. This is time for more

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

then, God bless and have a great day.