Loving People In Spite Of Them, Not Because Of Them!

Before the movie "Finding Nemo", came out Steve Jobs the founder of the Apple Computer company spent millions of dollars promoting it. Before a major push on merchandise Nike will sign a multi- million dollar contract with some sports star. Sometime soon you will see a major player in the clothing industry hire a celebrity to promote their product before the holiday rush. These companies think they have it figured out. How do they attract you to the product or service they are selling? The packaging!!

Millions of dollars are spent on researching and packaging many products and services even before they hit the shelves. If they can entice you enough, then they have a better chance to hook you into owning it. Many of us get the product home and when we open it up and it doesn't match the expectations the outside of the box conveyed to us. Then in a short period of time we lose our interest become disappointed and put it on a shelf only to go try and find another to fore fill our desires.

Let's say you have a child and they disobey you. Do you put them on a shelf and go have another or borrow one from the neighbor. No. You still value them, accept them and love them. You accept them in spite of their behavior and actions at the time. But why don't we take that same type of thinking with adults we know? It doesn't matter; friends, dating or married many times we love the other person because of what they originally brought to the relationship (the packaging, the hype). However, once we get to know that person we realize that they have some things that don't line up with our expectations of them or remind us of a past relationship that went sour. They don't fit in our packaged box anymore. We even try to mold them to fit, and when they don't we put them on an emotional shelf with an expiration date. In the beginning we loved to be around the other person more and were attracted to them because of who there were not in spite of who they are.

Jesus Christ is a great example to follow. Did Jesus die for us and loves us because of who we are? No! He died for us and continues to love us in spite of who we are. Even though we may disobey him or put him second best he still loves us. Even though at times we do not live up to his expectations, he realizes each one of us has things in our lives we could be better at. He knows we may continue to sin (Romans: 3:23) but he's not going to put us up on a shelf and find another one to love. He will continue to nuture, love and lead us closer to him. He sticks with us no matter what that is true love.

Let's all love our friends and close companions not because of what they bring to the table of life or what they can do for us, but love them in spite of their areas that don't line up with our expectations. Don't take a chance and lose a close friend, or even mate because they didn't fit into your expectation box. Accept them, value them, and Love them in spite of it all, you may just find a diamond in the ruff. Jesus did!

Greg Ryan is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT series. A powerful five step plan to better your life, get healthier, and have more energy! For FREE mini Course click here! http://www.resolutions.bz

---

The CAB Approach to Spiritual Growth

I have been thinking a lot about the spiritual growth... Read More

Intuition

Did you ever get a feeling or gain notion of... Read More

A Beautiful Mind is a Simple Mind!!

In the movie "A Beautiful Mind" John Nash (played by... Read More

Chicken Soup with Chopsticks: A Jews Struggle for Truth in an Interfaith Relationship (excerpts)

Does God care if I marry a gentile?Even as I... Read More

Sure! Ill be a Millionaire! Discover Wealth and Prosperity with the Angels of Abundance

I was in the bank's vault. The Brink's armored truck... Read More

When Goliath Comes

One does not have to live long to realize that... Read More

Animal Spirits: Power Animals and Guides

We shamans are a strange breed.....often we tend to isolate... Read More

Transformation in Difficult Situations: Divine Source through Barbara Rose

It is no doubt that so many of you are... Read More

Life Gets Teejus, Don?t It?

Those five words are from a song that I remember... Read More

New Hope For Global Peace

In a recent article entitled "Some Evidence of How We... Read More

Love, Honor, and Obey

Let's take a look at all these aspects. The bible... Read More

I?m Too Busy for Me

Everyone is busy nowadays. It's hard to find time for... Read More

We Fall Down -- But We Get Up

When I first heard Donnie McClurkin's song, "We Fall Down... Read More

The Abundant Life!

Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in... Read More

Who is God?

Since the beginning of time mankind has pondered, who God... Read More

Bringing Heaven to Earth: Applying Spiritual Principles Consistently Over Time

I am often asked to explain what I mean by... Read More

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

That we must live with imperfections is a fact of... Read More

Christian Forums: The Heroic Battle Between the Forces of Good and the Demon of Anti-Access

Saturday I was hangin' ten on my Dell when I... Read More

Relieve Me of Myself

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself... Read More

Fulfillment

A feeling of fulfillment is something we all seek. Here... Read More

You Have a Friend in Jesus

Have you heard the saying that; You have a friend... Read More

God Lives and Heals Today

I have a confession.I used to have doubts about God's... Read More

Discipline of Prayer: Always Connected

Every workday, five days a week, I take the light... Read More

Satan... Im Not Impressed!

One important factor in how we go through life is... Read More

When Bad Things Happen (Part 2)

The good that Paul writes about is a commitment of... Read More

Authentic Spirituality: Pure and Undefiled Religion

Because of the bright lights behind me, the golf balls... Read More

Self-Realization How It Can be Achieved Within Ones Life Time

Before we dwell on the subject of Self Realization we... Read More

Spirituality at Work Because You Cant Leave Home Without You

Several years ago after I presented a workshop entitled "Spirituality... Read More

Drifting Like a Summer Breeze

He knew it was going to happen. He wasn't really... Read More

Trailing Clouds of Glory

Most of us are familiar with the inner criticism and... Read More

Romantic Relationships: A Spiritual Perspective

Meeting someone so attractive, so beautiful. Your heart beats like... Read More

Spiritual Solution for Tensions and Anxiety

Realisation and repeated memorization of the true knowledge is the... Read More

Vacation Pilgrimage

I heard recently on a Christian radio station somebody talking... Read More