The Strength to Love

I had a personal rival from the team across town for the first few years of high school.

We had played against each other since we were kids, and each year, it got worse. She played the same position as me, so we were constantly compared. She would taunt me and start talking trash months before we would encounter each other on the field. As time went on, I came to dislike her more and more.

However, she tore her ACL at the beginning of our junior year and would be out for the whole season. She was devastated. I, on the other, had a choice to make. My flesh was excited to not listen to the trash talk, but my spirit was burdened. I knew she was struggling with the news of her injury; her athletic ability was her identity.

In the following days, my heart grew more and more burdensome toward her, and I knew I needed to do something. I decided to see if I could visit her. During that visit, I chose to show her love, chose to show her Jesus. After that visit, her heart was softened, and she no longer sought me out on the field.

If we love God and walk in the right relationship with Him, we are called to show love even to the hardest people in our lives. Our flesh will fight it but choose to listen to the Spirit.

God gave us the Holy Spirit to help us do what we feel is impossible. Choose today to show God’s love even to the least.