From Humbug to Whoville, Week 3: Loving the Unlovable

Title to message:  Loving the Unlovable (Isaiah 1:18) (NLT) “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. If you will only obey me The Unlovable: 1.    Often use sedation to hide their frustration. 2.    Often use laughter to hide their loneliness. 3.    Often use intimidation to hide their insecurity.   (Matthew 5:47) (MSG) “If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that.” (Matthew 5:9) (MSG) You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family. How to Love the Unlovable: 1.    Give them the benefit of the doubt. (Philippians 3:4)(NIV) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 2.    Speak well of them to others.  (Matthew 7: 1) (MSG) Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. (Ephesians 5:3-4) (MSG) Don’t allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect. 3.    Hope for their change of heart. (2 Timothy 2:22-26) (MSG) Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.   (Luke 2:8-10) “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’”