Dear Friend,
When they ask me why I liked you I will tell them I didn't. I will tell them I was constantly annoyed with you and disliked some of your tendencies. I will tell them you never listened to a word I said and was constantly trying to be deeper than you really were.
But I will also let them know that I loved you. That you were truly someone seeking the heart of God and I was always impressed how God's Holy Spirit moved through you even when you didn't know it.
See friend, we are different and life and our relationship is not about becoming alike, but about embracing our differences and recognizing the God that lives in both of us and that is what ultimately connects us.
I don't really like you now. Why is that so hard to believe and accept? Why is our society so caught up on being liked? Why do we think life revolves around us and the world is our playground? At what point do we realize that life has been given to us because of an ultimate sacrifice of love. Jesus gave his life not because he liked the style of life we lived and the manner in which we spoke of him and others, but because of something deeper.
Jesus, in an act of obedience to our Father, gave his life, not because it felt good and he wanted to be liked but because he loved our Father. In the process of being crucified Jesus said to our Father, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do!" He recognized that we were all God's children and even if we didn't know it, God wanted us to live life to the fullest.
Jesus' followers didn't even like him. They accepted him as the Messiah but didn't care much for his methods and I'm sure were constantly complaining. But Jesus stilled loved them and they loved him as well. What was it that they loved so much that even with there dislikes they continued to follow him and Jesus kept them around?
OUR FATHER!
He is Love! And no one can love unless they know Him.
I am able to say I love you, because I know Him and am in relationship with Him. And when I look at you I see Him and his flawless work. And I am somewhat frustrated when I look at you and see you abusing and destroying one of his masterpieces, much how I get frustrated with myself when I do the same thing.
I'm sorry that it bothers you that I don't like you, but know that I will always love you, because you, like me, are seeking our Father.
As we get further in this journey of discovering who we are in Christ, we will notice that our differences aren't so bad but they reflect another side of Him. And even in our many differences there's a true likeness and it is found in the love of our Father and for that we will always be connected.
Don't fall victim of wanting to be liked because it is a false reality. This is why Jesus said love thy brother as thy self. If we were the same this would be easy, but Jesus knew we wouldn't like each other and so He said look beyond, look within, Find Me! within yourself and within others.
Love,
Robert
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