Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Andy Gill

Home
Progressive Christian
On Loving Difficult People And, Being Loved as a “Difficult Person”…

On Loving Difficult People And, Being Loved as a “Difficult Person”…

Last updated on: May 26, 2018 at 5:49 pm by Andy Gill

On Loving Difficult People And, Being Loved as a “Difficult Person”… 2018-05-26T17:49:59-05:00 Andy Gill

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

With all that Jesus had done for these men, why would they betray him without hesitation?

I look at Jesus depicted in our four canonical gospels and He, the Messiah, has literally done everything right and He is still abandoned, betrayed, denied and essentially left alone by His twelve closest friends. Roman soldiers had to “compel” Simon of Cyrene, seemingly a stranger to Jesus, to help Him carry the cross the rest of the way.

Although it’s arguably conjecture, I’m lead to believe they betrayed Him out of fear and self-preservation.

But, really, I don’t know…

What I do know is that many times, it’s not that you are difficult to love, it’s that one person or a particular group of people have difficulty loving you. That’s not your fault, that’s not on you, and neither is it your responsibility to have to change who you are in order to be accepted and loved by them.

This is why we relate to and support forms of civil rights movements regarding race, gender, or sexuality; as Dr. Maureen Osborne says so eloquently, “the main thing they all share is the struggle to be authentic, to be known, to be heard and received. It is truly a civil rights struggle…”

The very people in which the religious leaders were exiling, belittling, and literally pushing outside of their Temple gates were the very people Jesus was spending the majority of His ministry with. Jesus went to the unclean and miraculously made them clean; He went to those deemed worthless and gave them worth; He dined with both the prostitutes and the Pharisees.

The common theme between the religious elite and the woman at the well is that both desperately desired the same exact thing: love and acceptance.

If “everything is spiritual” then relationships and community are messy forms of spirituality. It’s as if we’re all blindly wading through a swamp trying to miraculously find a small group of people that will help make this shit-hole, at least, half-way bearable.

I think Jesus put it best by saying, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and of sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions (Matthew 11:19).”

[Until next time, hit me up on Facebook to follow along with future content of mine]

Being Loved as a “Difficult Person”

Loving Difficult People

On Loving Difficult People And

Previous Post

April 22, 2018

Breaking the Cycle of a Toxic and Meaningless Negativity

Next Post

April 25, 2018 What Happens to Your Brain When You Stop Believing in God?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Books Buzzfeed Christian Church Church Culture Dating Dechurched eXvangelical Guest Post Humor Inspirational Justice LGBTQ Life Marriage Media Millennials Mini Post Monday Money Podcast Politics Race Reason Relationships Science Sex Socioeconomic Theology Theology Uncategorized Video Wednesday Youth Ministry

Select a Month June 2020 March 2020 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 January 2013 December 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

"For all have sinned, and all have fallen short of the ______ of God."

Select your answer to see how you score.

Standards Glory Sight Expectations

Support this
Column