In the Bible God commands us to love one another. Interestingly, He doesn’t command us to like one another. And that’s a good thing because you can love someone and not like certain things about them. Paul wrote, ‘We are his workmanship’ (Ephesians 2:10 KJV). The word ‘workmanship’ comes from the Greek word poiéma, which is also where the word ‘poetry’ comes from. And poetry is a diverse and creative thing; it comes in many forms. That’s why the Bible says God works through different people in different ways (take a look at 1 Corinthians 12:6). He uses all kinds of people, including the ones we may not like or want to work with. ‘A spiritual gift is given to each of us’ (1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT), and it’s up to us to discover and develop it. ‘Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving’ (Ephesians 4:12 NCV). The word ‘prepare’ is also interesting. It comes from a medical term in the original Greek, and doctors used it to describe the process of setting a broken bone. When we’re broken and hurting, our own God-given gifts are one of the things God uses in our process of healing and recovery. And we can use our gifts to help others around us who are also feeling broken and unloved. Doctors don’t think about whether they like someone before they treat them – their focus is to heal the injury or cure the illness. And we should try to have the same attitude – whether we like someone or not, we should show God’s love to them by helping them find healing and recovery through Him.

What Now?

Think of someone you don’t like. Even though you don’t get along with them, try to find a way to show God’s love to them today.