“Just love them like Jesus” is a popular phrase we hear and use often as Christians and we are indeed commanded to love as Jesus loved but what does that look like?  We can be Christians and we can mean well, and give advice and think we are doing it out of love and for the other one’s good, but until we open the Bible and seek to find out how Jesus loved, then all of our efforts are in vain.

To say Jesus loved unconditionally is not enough.  Jesus loved “individually”.  He did not have a standard “one program fits all”; He meets each person at their point of need.  When correction was needed, He corrected.  When kindness was needed, He showed kindness.  He healed, He forgave, He protected.  He was appropriate when He spoke, knowing exactly what was best in each situation. And when silence was needed, He had the power to speak not a word.

Until we walk with Jesus – daily – in every situation presented us, we will never know how to truly help people like He does…we will never be able to see them as He does or love them like He does.  I believe the first step in loving people like Jesus is seeing ourselves in the other person.  We must remember that the unlovely one, the weak one, the poor one, the rude one, the impatient one, the heart broken one, the abused one, the guarded one, the violent one, the uncaring one, the alcoholic one, the drug addicted one, the hopeless one – that one before us was once me and was once you.  And then we met Jesus and He loved us just how we were at that time and never judged us and never looked upon us with disgust and never told us to get over it.  He forgave us before we even asked Him to.  So, if He could die for us just so we could live forever with Him – then surely we can extend grace, forgiveness, mercy and love to those in need around us even if they haven’t asked for it and even if they refuse it…because Christ died for them, also! 

The second way and quite possibly the most important step in loving people like Jesus is seeing Jesus in the people we are looking at.  Seeing who this unpleasant one before me could be if they knew their Savior as I know mine.  So, this is how we love them like Jesus…we remember who we were and envision who they can be.