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Sitting in for my dad this week is my father-in-law, Pastor Bob Erickson. As we often do, we begin this week’s podcast discussing movies. Most coming-of-age movies from Goonies to the Breakfast Club feature an oustsider – some may even define them as “unlovely.”
One of my father-in-law’s “Bobisms” that he has taught for decades is our need to “Love the Unlovely”.
Jesus Himself said that He came for the broken, the unfortunate, the outcast. He touched these peoples’ lives with grace, mercy and love and He calls upon us to do the same.
We are given opportunities to do this every single day – even in the midst of our busy lives.
Too often, we avoid uncomfortable or inconvenient situations to love the unlovely, just as Jesus described in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
Or, to get out of loving the unlovely, we too often convince ourselves of idioms such as: “They made their bed, now they’ve got to lay in it”; “I’m just too busy”; or “If they’re unwilling to work, they shouldn’t get to eat.”
Actually, the truth is that every human being is worthy of being touched by Jesus. If we are truly living out our lives as being the hands and feet of Jesus, then we need to be willing to give our time and attention to make the “unlovely” people in our community feel loved and valued as human beings because each of us are created in the image of God. Unfortunately, we often forget this fact, as do those who most need to feel the value of being created as such.
Michael Christensen learned this lesson from Mother Teresa in the streets of Calcutta (City Streets, City People: A Call for Compassion). We hope that you walk away with a more compassionate heart – one that is willing to love the unlovely people in your life – after hearing this week’s podcast.