Obnoxious

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8 NIV

I had some unbelievably obnoxious students. They stood out in the crowd. Teachers all knew them and saw them coming. Yet, we had a duty to teach them, to treat them fairly, and, if we named Christ, to love them. My patience was tried every day for the boy that always disrupted by sitting in someone else’s chair, or who yelled out, or made noises, or stood on the desk. Or the girl that danced around behind me or loved to jump up when I turned my back.

Yet, the Bible says God loved us, even when we lived in defiance of him. Henry Law said of us sinners: “Everything in them is calculated to excite alienation.”

God’s unbelievable love reaches out to us anyway. His love is greater than our sin, even at our most ugly moments. In his, Great House of God, Max Lucado states, “Knowing full well the trouble you would be, and the price He would pay, He signed His name next to yours and changed your name to His and took you home.”

This kind of love ought to inspire us to love those we find difficult. With God’s grace, he makes this kind of love possible.