The Ballestero Blog

The Best Thing I Can Do For You Is To Love You.

Some people are easier to love than others. Occasionally we encounter those that are critical, abrasive and even harsh. It doesn’t feel good. They seem to resist any and all expressions of kindness and goodwill. Their spirit is such that it is tempting to put a great distance between them and us.

It is easy to love those that love us back. There is warmth and comfort in friendships like that. The two-way street of Friendship is an easy road to travel. We feel wanted and even needed among loving friends and family.

Many of our letters, text messages, emails and phone calls to friends and family end with the “I Love You” salutation. Most of us find that easy to say. Yet we would never dream of saying that to some people.

There are those that we meet and they take an immediate dislike for us. Maybe they are just having a bad day and we just happened to cross their paths. I don’t know.

Others seem to focus their sights on us on purpose and take great exceptions to everything we do or say. It feels like we will always be wrong as far as they are concerned.

Do not fall into the trap of fighting them back, or God forbid, hating them. Bitterness consumes everyone one that allows it access.

It does not feel good to be hated, rejected or criticized. None of us want to be mistreated, persecuted or despitefully used. It’s painful to have our good name attacked or our ideology trashed. That makes our carnal nature want to rise to the defense. Then the war begins.

Too many of us spend our life doing battle with our enemies. How long do we let a war go on? The story of the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s family feud maybe legendary, but it does not need to be repeated.

May we make up our minds to love one another. May we truly love those in our home and in our church. But God’s will is for our love to extend past those walls and reach into the lives of our enemies. May we love those that refuse to love us.

Jesus told us that there is no special reward in loving those that love us back. But He did require that we love those that were our enemies. He asked us to love them that refused to love us back.

He told us that if we wish to be called His child, we were required:

• To Love Our Enemies.
• To Bless Our Enemies.
• To Do Good Things For Them.
• To Pray For Them.

Matt. 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Matt. 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Matt. 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matt. 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

• Feed Him If He’s hungry
• Give Him Water If He’s Thirsty

Rom. 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

• Do we meet the requirements of sonship listed of Matthew 5:43-46?
• Do we qualify as a child of the Father?
• I pray we all do!

The Best Thing I Can Do For You Is To Love You.

The Best Thing I Can Do For Myself Is To Love You.

By The Way, I Love You!