When Loving's the Hardest Part, Open Your Eyes and Your Heart

From the back of my work counter, I greeted the familiar face of my most dreaded customer. I stayed in the same room as her, disgusted by the look in her eyes of obvious drug use, pushing the stroller of her youngest child. All the thoughts in my head were negative. Closely I stayed by, knowing her history of shoplifting. Plenty of things went through my head: the desire for her children to be taken away, for her to be arrested, for the house behind the store that she occupied to be torn down. It was only through God’s eyes that my thoughts quickly changed.

My boss has been generous to her family, helping them stay clothed and find jobs. I was still close by when he came in the room to speak to her. They talked of the money her boyfriend was supposed to have paid him back and she, in what appeared to be shock, placed her arm dramatically on the counter, supporting her chin. At this time, I not only listened in to the clues of her abusive relationship, but saw the scar tissue from self-inflicted cuts. My heart broke for this young lady whom previously, I had been viewing as a waste of life.

What I realize now is that the love Jesus speaks of in the Bible is not exclusive. It was always easy for me to love people that I had gone to church with, that I had things in common with, but about those around me living in crime and sin, I would think, “They did this to themselves.” Jesus did not give his life for the saints alone. He died for everyone’s sin. He died for me, he died for you, and he died for the murderers and rapists.

The next day, a pair of jeans were brought into the store by the young woman’s brother. He was using them for an exchange. Through watching our videos, we discovered she had stolen them. I tuned out the talk all around me as I thought of her. I felt sympathy for her and the struggles she faces, as a drug addicted mother of five, living in poverty.

In my Christian journey, perhaps the most challenging part has been loving my enemies. I also assure you, it has been the most rewarding. Without love, the lost will never be found. I love her with the love of God. My desire is for this lady who has wronged the business I work for, to change her life. I don’t desire the bad things I mentioned before, but rather for her to see the love of God in the land of the living.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (English Standard Version, Eph. 4.32).