“You will never look into a pair of eyes of someone that God doesn't love.”
It is easy to forget that there is not one person walking on this earth that God doesn’t love. Strange, isn’t it? To think when we look into the eyes of any individual, God loves him or her just as much as He loves us—no strings attached. To think that love is not conditional or only able to be expressed to certain people. Our modern day culture often pushes us into thinking that we should love all—but only if they share our beliefs, feelings, opinions, or political views. In fact, it often goes so far to teach us to hate and bash those on opposite sides of the political spectrum from ourselves, simply because what they believe could be offensive to your own beliefs. For Christians, this is where these ideas fall apart: love itself is not conditional—not anywhere in the Bible, even in this politics-driven world we live in.
Jesus did not just love those who loved him, or those whom He agreed with. He loved tax collectors and prostitutes (Matthew 9:10-13). He loved “untouchables” (Matthew 8:1-17). He loved his enemies (Luke 6:27), and he loved the entire world—thousands of sinners with millions of views and beliefs that greatly differed from His own—with a love so deep that He demonstrated it by being nailed to the cross (Matthew 27:32-56). These individuals were not on the same moral or political spectrum as Jesus and He most certainly did not agree with their lifestyles or choices. But that did not change the fact that He spoke with kindness and love to them. In today’s politically-charged culture, love is often conditionally based upon your viewpoints of who should be in Congress and whether or not climate change is actually occurring. But it shouldn’t be.
In 1 Corinthians 13:7, we are told that, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” The Gospel tells us that it doesn’t matter who we relate to, who we share similar opinions with, who has been through tough times with us. We are supposed to love until the end and without limitations. In John 15:2, we are given a simple command: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Similarly, John 4:11 tells us, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” John doesn’t tell us of any conditions under which God loved us and loves us today, or under which conditions we are told to love one another. The very fact that God loves us is enough of a reason for us to love others, no matter where they fall on the political spectrum.
Looking further in the Word, Ephesians 5 1-2 says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…” We are called to walk in love, and we are given the capacity to love others for a reason—because God loves us and we should imitate Him in this way. So, what does truly walking in love look like in this politically-frenzied world? I would say that this looks like praying for those that are hard to love. Truly walking in love is praying for peace in the hearts of those who have done you wrong. Truly walking in love is not jumping to judge others, but prayerfully asking God to purify your thoughts toward others instead—even those with radically different political views. Truly walking in love is being kind to people who are not kind to you or hate on you for your beliefs—and those who are, of course. Truly walking in love is sacrificing what you want or desire when someone else wants those same things and only one person can get them. Truly walking in love is letting others go first, go ahead of you, walk beside you—even when you don’t really want them to.
Walking in love is not easy—especially when there are people you come into contact with whose viewpoints are extremely different from your own. Walking in love is not easy. It is extremely difficult, and often, you will fail. But, every day, we are invited to walk in love the way that Jesus did, and we should take advantage of that opportunity that we have been given. We should try.
Cristi is a pre-law student double majoring in editing, writing, & media and advertising here in Tallahassee. Besides writing, she loves church, traveling, coffee, spending time with her family, and listening to/taking part in debates. She is the founder of Tallahassee Teen Magazine, former EIC of News in a Click, and EIC of The Tally Wire.