Good morning, friends.

Last week we reflected on Jesus inviting His disciples to come away and rest before returning to serve. That invitation has stayed with me because I’ve realized how often Jesus teaches us something in one season that we’ll need in the next.

It’s one thing to receive His compassion when we’re tired or overwhelmed. It’s another thing entirely when He asks us to extend that same compassion to someone who isn’t easy to love.

A few years ago, I found myself walking into our coffee shop carrying a heavy heart. Our family was in the middle of a deeply personal season, and emotionally I felt like I had very little left to give. As I walked through the door, I noticed someone sitting alone who had been posting some pretty painful things online about our coffee shop. I had quietly prayed before that if the Lord ever wanted me to have a conversation with them, He would have to arrange it because I wasn’t sure how to begin.

Apparently, He chose that morning.

If I’m honest, I wasn’t excited about His timing. I quietly slipped into the restroom, looked at myself in the mirror, and remember thinking, Really, Lord? Today?

I felt completely empty.

That’s when I sensed Him whisper so gently,

“Trust Me to love them through you.”

Those words changed the way I walked back into the shop. I picked out a favorite treat from the bakery case, carried it over to their table, introduced myself, and simply sat down to talk. It wasn’t a dramatic conversation. There wasn’t a miraculous breakthrough that day. But something changed, both in me and in them. Looking back, I don’t think Jesus was simply inviting me to be kind.

He was reminding me that His love is never limited by my own strength.

Scripture

Luke 6:35-36 (NLT)

John 13:34-35 (NIV)

Pause and Reflect

When I first read Jesus’ words in Luke 6, they honestly felt impossible. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Everything in us wants to believe that if we just try a little harder, we’ll eventually become the kind of people who can live this way.

But Jesus never asks us to manufacture a love we don’t possess.

In John 13, He gives us the key: “Love each other. Just as I have loved you…”

His command is rooted in His example.

We love because we have first been loved.

We extend mercy because we have first received mercy.

We offer grace because grace has been poured out over our own lives.

The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I realize that loving difficult people isn’t about trying harder. It’s about remaining close enough to Jesus that His heart begins shaping mine.

The more time I spend with Him, the more I begin to see people through His eyes instead of my own.

That doesn’t mean difficult people suddenly become easy to love. It does mean I’m no longer trying to love them alone.

That morning in the coffee shop, Jesus wasn’t asking me to somehow find compassion I didn’t have. He was inviting me to trust that His compassion would be enough if I stayed connected to Him.

Perhaps that’s why Jesus tells us to pray for those who hurt us. Prayer has a way of changing more than the situation. It slowly changes the one who is praying.

As you spend a few quiet moments with Jesus today, consider these questions:

• Is there someone you’ve been finding difficult to love?
• How has Jesus shown you grace that you might now extend to someone else?
• Where might He be inviting you to trust Him to love someone through you this week?
• What would change if you stopped trying harder and simply remained closer?

Soul Care Practice – Pray Through His Eyes

Set aside a few quiet minutes today and ask the Holy Spirit to bring one person to mind whom you’ve been struggling to love.

Rather than beginning with your own thoughts about them, begin with Jesus.

Ask Him:

“Jesus, how do You see this person?”

“What burden might they be carrying that I cannot see?”

“How would You like to love them through me?”

Spend a few moments simply listening before you pray. Then ask God to bless them, draw them close to Himself, and continue transforming your own heart as you remain close to Him.

Carry It With You

This week, whenever that person’s name comes to mind, let it become a gentle reminder to pray instead of replay.

Offer a simple prayer like,

“Jesus, help me see them the way You do.”

You may not be able to change the relationship overnight, but you can remain connected to the One who changes hearts, including your own.

Trust Him to love through you, one small act of obedience at a time.

Prayer

Jesus,

Thank You for loving us when we were far from You and for continuing to love us with patience, mercy, and grace each day. We confess that there are people who are difficult for us to love, and sometimes we simply don’t have the strength to do it on our own.

Thank You that You have never asked us to.

Teach us to remain so close to You that Your love naturally begins flowing into our relationships. Help us to see people through Your eyes, to pray with compassion, and to trust that You are at work even when we cannot see it.

May our lives reflect the love You have first shown to us, so that others may come to know You through the way we love.

In Your precious name, Amen.

Until Next Monday…

Thank you for spending a little time with me today. As you go into this week, I hope you’ll remember that beautiful invitation Jesus whispered to my heart and still whispers to ours: “Trust Me to love them through you.” What freedom there is in knowing we don’t have to carry that responsibility alone.

I’ll meet you back here next Monday. Until then, may you remain rooted in His love, reflect His heart to those around you, and discover the quiet joy of watching Him do through you what you could never do on your own.