Loving Others, Even Without Liking Them

I have just started participating in a class on some of CS Lewis' non-fiction books. It consists of reading the books (obviously), listening to lectures, discussing and asking questions (those last two being my most favourite). Presently, we are reading Mere Christianity. There is a lot I could say on the book, but there is one particular topic that Lewis explains very nicely (in a way has helped me understand it better/changed my perspective on it) that I would like to write my thoughts on. That topic is the concept of 'loving your neighbour as yourself'.

Whenever I had wanted to better understand that verse, I just looked at it as meaning the same as 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. I still think that is very much what it looks like, but I believe there is something more to it.

You see, I have always had trouble grasping (and I blame this on my not thinking about it often enough, but just pushing it to the back burner of my thoughts) exactly what it even means to 'love myself'. So for me to love someone else in that way is quite impossible, because I cannot honestly say that I love myself. What I mean is that there are so very many things about myself that I very much dispise and even hate. I honestly don't even like me. I think that is the case though; they are just that - 'things about myself', but not actually myself. I can still love myself, without love what I do - without even liking myself.

So just as this is how I love myself, this is also how I am to love others, even when I don't even like others/myself, or like what they/I do.

This brings a whole new light to the concept of 'loving your enemies' which I have found to be almost impossible. But loving them as I love myself, I think, is much easier to grasp. I can love my enemies without actually like them or what they do, but loving them because God made them and because He loves them, and He has asked me to love them.

I don't think God would tell us to do something that would totally contradict his commands, principles, and values, so He wouldn't ask us to like what our enemy does. Most likely, there is a reason why we have an enemy, or why we don't like that enemy. If some murderer were trying to hunt me down to kill me, he is my enemy because he wants to murder me. God is very much against murder, so He wouldn't ask me to love that murder's murderous behaviour. So obviously, God is not meaning that I love what that criminal does. But is it still possible for me to love the criminal himself? I think so; because God does. God doesn't like what we do, but He still loves us. Of course, it is very impossible to be like God, let alone love like Him, but with His help, and because we are created in His image, I believe we can at least begin to.

There is a lot more I could say on this subject, but my library computer time is almost out.

Perhaps this is all stuff that you already knew, or haven't found particularly hard to grasp, but it is relatively new to me. Or should I say, this way of looking at it, is relatively new.

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I enjoy thinking about God, life, the Bible, music, and anything else related to those things. I am starting this blog in the hopes of journaling those thoughts. I invite you to take my hand and come with me on that journey...

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