I have high expectations of people, especially the people I know well and love the most.
But here’s the thing: people are people. That icky sinful nature always - and I do mean always - gets the better of us. We lie to make ourselves look better and we cheat to get the best portion and we consistently put our own interest above others’: we fall short all the time. Particularly in our relationships.
If I say that I love people, then I need to love all of people. I need to love that part of them that drives me crazy and acts selfishly. I need to love that part of them that sometimes thinks they’re better than I am. I need to love their humanity because I know that I have that same awful sinful nature in me.
Maybe having friends is less about finding other people who match up perfectly with our qualifications for good company and more about learning to recognize the Spirit behind all the sin.
That’s what I pledge to do: look for the Jesus in those around me and try to love everything about them, even the not-so-great stuff.
