Loving Others Like Jesus

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” -Mark 12:30

Loving others like Jesus is our lifelong “following Jesus” quest. Life presents us with challenging circumstances and what to do in such circumstances can be difficult to decipher. However, the ultimate question of How do I proceed in my quest to follow Jesus and love as God loves me? can be our prevailing pursuit as we move forward in our quest to love and follow Jesus with all our heart.

Throughout the year I’ll have men and women reach out to me with questions about marriage, kids, family, relationships, etc. The following question came to me this week and I wanted to share it as well as my response…

Interesting things begin when it comes to a wedding and stuff. What should a Christian mother do when a gay child invites her to a wedding? Should she come or not? What if she disapproves and cannot wish anything good for that family?

Before I share my response, please consider this…

This might not be something you’ve ever had to face, but we all have had to deal with people in our lives, whom we love dearly, making choices and decisions we do not agree with. Perhaps it’s our child or a close friend or family member. Maybe a friend has a differing political view than we ourselves hold. Or maybe someone in your home has apposing political stances and you vehemently disagree. What if another’s actions intersect with ours in a painful way? What if every time you talk about a certain topic it ends in arguments?

This was my response to this mom about same-sex weddings and whether to attend…

I can only speak on what I would do…I would go to the wedding and support my child. My love and support for all of my children is not contingent on whether I agree with them. I raised my children to think for themselves and stand up for what they believe. If their beliefs don’t totally lineup with mine, I do not withdraw my love. A parent’s job is to love unconditionally like God loves us. Jesus was there when Zacchaeus climbed in a tree and was stealing from people. Jesus loved Peter even when Peter denied Jesus. David was praised for being “a man after God’s own heart” even when he murdered and committed adultery. All through the Bible our message from God is that He loves us no matter what.

When we dig into our Bibles as flawed people, sometimes we want it to say what we want it to say and we look for what our bias is. To truly seek Jesus and follow full heartedly we need to approach Scripture with a willingness to see into the heart of God. Scripture shows us over and over flawed and broken people who need a savior but are loved completely just as they are.

Prostitutes.

Thieves.

Murderers.

Slanderers.

Gluttons.

Idolators.

Self-seekers.

Greedy.   

From God we are given grace. We receive grace abundantly each and every day and it overflows carrying us to the cross.

We are that person who needs a Savior. And in our need grace flows until we reach everlasting glory forever and ever.

This is the good news of the Gospel. 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

– Ephesians 2:8-10

For more from Lucille Williams The Impossible Kid: Parenting a Strong-Willed Child with Love and Grace, is available now! For your marriage, From Me to We, and The Intimacy You Crave will help your relationship thrive. Subscribe to LuSays today for weekly encouragement.