The Unlovable

Taken from my other blog site, The Next Step...

Who do you see as unlovable?  The convicted murderer?  I met a man once who attempted to murder his entire family, including his four year old brother who now lives as an adult quadriplegic.  I sat across the table from him in a pre-trial detention facility and saw the emptiness in the eyes looking back at me.  Is what he did unforgivable?  Is he wholly unholy and unlovable?  What about the man or woman convicted of a sex offense?  I've worked with many.  Child molestation? Rape? They're the "scum of the earth" most people say, and certainly not deserving of grace or mercy.  Castrate them all?  Sure, because they're definitely among the unlovable.  Right? Wrong.  What about the drug addicted?  The heroine addict who is willing to sell her family and herself to the devil of drug delivery for just one more high. We should relegate her to the same realm of disdain and disgust while we're on a roll.  How about the terrorist?  The unexpected killing of hundreds or thousands of innocents, all in the name of a broken belief system that tells him he's justified in the slayings.  We should definitely withhold love and grace there too.  The white cop who kills a black man?  I'm sure hell has a spot warm just for him, but if not, would you be willing to traverse the fiery terrain to ensure his space is reserved?  I know some who would.  Hatred is powerful.  And ugly.  What action or behaviors are unforgivable in your eyes?  Who are we damming to hell today? Go ahead, run through the list in your head because it's there. You hear of some atrocity and shake your head in contempt toward the person capable, but let's be honest.  Your head also shakes in quiet, albeit prideful, gratitude that you're not that kind of sinner.  I know because I've been there.   When you think of your own life, what are those sins you would never commit?  I've learned in my life to stop saying I'll "never" do this or that because the word "never" is usually a presumptuous prelude to the discovery of my own shortcomings and propensity for an undesirable (at best) or egregious (at worst) sin.  When we say things like well I would never do that, we're usually well connected with our inner Pharisee who simply needs to remove the speck in his eye (Matthew 7:3-5) and love like Jesus did.  And Jesus loved the unlovable. 

Luke 6: 32-42 in the Message translation says this: "If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that.  If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal?  Garden-variety sinners do that.  If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers do that.  I tell you, love your enemies...Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst."  I can relate well to the Apostle Paul when he said in 1 Timothy 1:15 "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst."  I think that until we can see ourselves in that category of, at one time or another in our lifetime, the "worst of sinners," then our zeal for righteousness and justice and sinless sustainability is nothing more than a hypocritical facade that aims to keep one's own allegorical shadow hidden...even at my best, I am still among the worst if measured against the perfection of Jesus, and here's a foundation to build on - so are you.  Surprised? Shocked?  Offended?  Read on.


In John 8, the scribes and Pharisees of the day brought a woman caught in adultery before Jesus.  Because the law of Moses commanded them to stone her to death, they sought Jesus's response to the situation, and in John 8:7, He replied with "let any one of you who is without sin throw the first stone."  No one could measure up.  A stone was unable to be thrown that day because Jesus touched the heart of the matter.  We're all imperfect and sinful.  I am, you are, and the sooner we each individually look closely in the mirror of God's Word, we can more fully love one another collectively.  Romans 3:23 says that "all have fallen short of the glory of God."  I saw a meme on social media recently that said "I'm not saying I hate you, but I would unplug your life support to charge my phone."  I'm not even going to lie, I laughed out loud because the minute the words were internalized into my brain, a specific person in my life came to mind and I was quickly convicted of hatred in my  own heart towards another of God's beloved.  Dang.  Caught in my own Pharisee moment again.  How could I hate anybody if God loves everybody?  Unless I'm higher than God (no thank you, I don't want that job), then I'm called to obey the whole "love your neighbor" (Mark 12:31) command, and I haven't seen a single neighbor in my lifetime who looks just like me, so loving my neighbor must mean loving even those who are different from me and sin differently than me.  Even the unlovable.  That's me and that's you.
Go.
Love others.
And be loved.


"The most important commandment...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these."  - Mark 12:29-31