There is no escaping that the call to love is always a call to people – even.the.difficult.ones, but how do you love people who annoy you? How do we obey Jesus’ command to love others as we love ourselves if we really don’t like them to begin with? We PRAY!
Does your life look different enough from the culture of this world that the Gospel is the only way to explain it? We live and operate in a world where two kingdoms are present – the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light and each has its own culture. The culture of this world is driven by the kingdom of darkness, is ruled by the devil, and is what our flesh is naturally drawn to.
Consumerism has become so steeped in our Christian culture that we’ve now begun viewing our relationships through this unhealthy lens. We want what we want, and we want it now. Our unmet expectations cause us to become frustrated, bitter, and resentful with the people in our world. Our discipleship no longer has a framework for the difficulties which come as a result of our relationships taking place in a flawed world with flawed people, of which we are one.