yeah....but do you have to like them?

[missmuffet]

5 hours ago, Riverwalker said:

Not quite same, one is a person and one is an action. Love the sinner hate the sin

 

That is an extremely good point.   So there is a level that we do not let the unbeliever in. I mean I will love and forgive the guy who killed my first wife 36 years ago....but do I have to invite him over for dinner?

We can let people use us as door mats. What about the toxic person? Although I can pray for them. What is the difference between liking someone and loving someone?

[leah777]

2 hours ago, missmuffet said:

We can let people use us as door mats. What about the toxic person? Although I can pray for them. What is the difference between liking someone and loving someone?

what is your definition of love? 

[R. Hartono]

11 hours ago, Riverwalker said:

Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 [o]But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust

Okay God says we have to love them...but do we have to like them?

I have dealt with a lot of people over the years and at first the worst ones among them (Trolling Atheists) I found very hard to love. They were rude crude immature and disruptive all things that don't sit well with me. But as a went on I realized that while some of these people were just plain immature ...whatevers, some of them were hurt and lashing out because something inside them told them they wanted God to be real, but something in their life made that very difficult. The ability to separate those two is not always easy, which is why I think God wants us to treat everyone with love, lest in our Christian zeal we steamroll someone who really needs help. A failing I still fall into today.

 

But the question I am left with is this. What is the difference between loving your enemy and liking them. And are you required to do both?

The point is to try to leave all hatred against them which is an internal barrier between u n God.

[Sower]

11 hours ago, Riverwalker said:

But the question I am left with is this. What is the difference between loving your enemy and liking them. And are you required to do both?

There are people, believers,  I have not liked for various reasons.
But I will always pray for them, till I see them through God's eyes.
I don't lie to myself or con myself to 'make believe' to like them.
I just treat them with 'willfull' love, and try to see them as someone Jesus died for.
It works for me.
 

[Riverwalker]

13 minutes ago, Sower said:

There are people, believers,  I have not liked for various reasons.
But I will always pray for them, till I see them through God's eyes.
I don't lie to myself or con myself to 'make believe' to like them.
I just treat them with 'willfull' love, and try to see them as someone Jesus died for.
It works for me.
 

Willfull love...  I understand that

[missmuffet]

16 hours ago, leah777 said:

what is your definition of love? 

God is love.

There are different types of love:

1. Friendship

2. Affectionate

3. Sacrificial

 

 

[Jaydub]

22 hours ago, Marathoner said:

He loves me, the mess that I am;

Better then a halleluiah sometimes

[Starise]

On 4/6/2021 at 12:39 PM, Riverwalker said:

But the question I am left with is this. What is the difference between loving your enemy and liking them. And are you required to do both?

Hi Riverwalker.

I had been exposed to some of those callous Atheist people as well, so I get that. They can be especially abrasive.I think what really got to me the most with those people was what they were doing to our savior. Jesus still has people spitting into His face today. 

They have no idea what they are doing. 

Anyways....back OT, no I don't think we are required to do both because 'like' is not something we can really change. It is inherent to us as individuals. I think we can sometimes come to like people over time. Maybe someone we didn't initially warm up to becomes more likable over time. 

Love is an action verb in this context. God says to LOVE our enemies and others. Apparently we can learn to love anyone. Husbands LOVE your wives. This isn't conditional on whether they are always lovable. Like OTOH is not the same. I might not LIKE coconut cake. I might not like people who wear dreadlocks and smell. I can still LOVE them. I might not like over talkative loudmouths who won't let anyone else talk. I can still LOVE then. Even though love is often equated with a feeling I think it's more of an action. Feelings are fickle. It's a choice to open up an emotion.

So how can I love but not like someone? We try to see them through the eyes of Christ. Jesus loves them.He knows everything about them and still loves them. He doesn't like sin, yet He loves us.

Easier said than done sometimes. I acknowledge that.

 

[Marathoner]

15 hours ago, Sower said:

There are people, believers,  I have not liked for various reasons.
But I will always pray for them, till I see them through God's eyes.
I don't lie to myself or con myself to 'make believe' to like them.
I just treat them with 'willfull' love, and try to see them as someone Jesus died for.
It works for me.
 

Thank you for expressing the truth in this way, brother. We do the best we can, wherever we happen to be, trusting in God to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ by His Spirit. He is indeed faithful to continue this work from glory to glory. Praise the Lord! 

[leah777]

2 hours ago, missmuffet said:

God is love.

There are different types of love:

1. Friendship

2. Affectionate

3. Sacrificial

 

 

Ok, they are definitions of types of love. What is your definition of love itself and what that entails, what is involved in showing love.