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

Before the movie "Finding Nemo", came out SteveJobs the founder of the Apple Computer companyspent millions of dollars promoting it. Before amajor push on merchandise Nike will sign a multi-million dollar contract with some sports star.Sometime soon you will see a major player in theclothing industry hire a celebrity to promotetheir product before the holiday rush. Thesecompanies think they have it figured out. How dothey attract you to the product or service theyare selling? The packaging!!

Millions of dollars are spent on researching andpackaging many products and services even beforethey hit the shelves. If they can entice youenough, then they have a better chance to hook youinto owning it. Many of us get the product homeand when we open it up and it doesn't match theexpectations the outside of the box conveyed tous. Then in a short period of time we lose ourinterest become disappointed and put it on a shelfonly to go try and find another to fore fill ourdesires.

Let's say you have a child and they disobey you.Do you put them on a shelf and go have another orborrow one from the neighbor. No. You still valuethem, accept them and love them. You accept themin spite of their behavior and actions at thetime. But why don't we take that same type ofthinking with adults we know? It doesn't matter;friends, dating or married many times we love theother person because of what they originallybrought to the relationship (the packaging, thehype). However, once we get to know that personwe realize that they have some things that don'tline up with our expectations of them or remind usof a past relationship that went sour. They don'tfit in our packaged box anymore. We even try tomold them to fit, and when they don't we put themon an emotional shelf with an expiration date. Inthe beginning we loved to be around the otherperson more and were attracted to them because ofwho there were not in spite of who they are.

Jesus Christ is a great example to follow. DidJesus die for us and loves us because of who weare? No! He died for us and continues to love usin spite of who we are. Even though we may disobeyhim or put him second best he still loves us. Eventhough at times we do not live up to hisexpectations, he realizes each one of us hasthings in our lives we could be better at. Heknows we may continue to sin (Romans: 3:23) buthe's not going to put us up on a shelf and findanother one to love. He will continue to nuture,love and lead us closer to him. He sticks with usno matter what that is true love.

Let's all love our friends and close companionsnot because of what they bring to the table oflife or what they can do for us, but love them inspite of their areas that don't line up with ourexpectations. Don't take a chance and lose a closefriend, or even mate because they didn't fit intoyour expectation box. Accept them, value them, andLove them in spite of it all, you may just find adiamond 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