I love the people who love me.  That’s only natural.

I love my family.  I love my children.  I love people who are nice to me and my family.  I love my church.  I love my friends.  I love lots of people.

I love Ole Miss, but I’m not sure why, since they aren’t very nice to me most football seasons.

Anyway, I love these people.

And, that’s nice.  Scripture tells us to love.  But, the command of scripture to love is not just the folks that are nice to me, and the folks that are easy to love.  But, to love everyone.  Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 5 today:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Jesus says God sends sunlight to both – to the evil and the good.  God sends rain to both – the just and the unjust. God gives love to all. And, He calls us to do that.

Jesus tells us to be like our Father in heaven, and that means we are to love.

Not just the folks we like.  Not just the folks like us. Not just the folks that agree with us. Not just the folks that share our opinion.  Not just the folks that we are friends with.

We are to love everyone. Even the folks that have done things wrong, that have hurt us or others, that really aren’t nice people.

Why?

Because God loves them.

And, because the only way we can change people is not through hate. The only way we can change people, can change the world, is through love.

God changed us through the love of His son. That’s how He expects us to change the world. So, today, love. Love everyone. Show God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s grace.

To both. To all. To everyone.  Because that’s who God is. And that’s who God is calling us to be.