Loving the Unlovely

I'm having one of those days where I wonder - what am I doing with my life? I feel stuck in this college stage. I'm ready to be married, but not ready to marry any of the guys I've met. I'm 22. I feel like every day is just another day of entropy....breakdown...becoming less beautiful every day.

And then I remember my new years resolution. Instead of picking a physical goal, I pick a characteristic of God that I want to learn over the each new year. Last year it was Trust. The year before, Patience. This year it is Selfless Love. Boy, that's a powerful characteristic that I see in God  on a daily basis. If I were Him, I never would have sent my only Son to earth to die for an ingrate like myself. I just simply don't deserve that kind of love. I think of my childhood friend who had a stroke at age 12 and has been in a vegetable state ever since. Just this week they pulled the plug. She died at 22. Why wasn't that me? We used to play together. I think of her family and all the time and love they gave her even though she could never speak again. 10 years. That's selfless love.

So when I focus 99% of my day on my flaws, I'm actually focusing 99% of my day on self love. I don't want my day to be that way. I want to be so busy serving God and others that I don't have time to dwell on self-pity and discouraging inward thoughts.

The point is, Jesus came to earth and demonstrated a love unlike any other to very unlovely people - a love that He never expected to be repayed for. He didn't expect repayment, though, because He loves the world. All He asks is that we accept His free gift of eternal life.

So I want to be more and more like my Saviour every day. I want to love without expecting anything in return. I want to love the unlovely. I want to love the success of others more than myself. I want to lay up my treasures in heaven, because the treasures and beauties of this earth DO corrupt and rust and other people can even steal them away.

Guess What. There's nothing more beautiful than love.