How can I love someone who is so sick?

Posted on Jun 21, 2012 by Amy

As a Mom, I am pretty sure I have wiped more snotty noses and caught more colds than I ever thought possible in someone's lifetime. We are a healthy family but it seems nearly inevitable that every few weeks one of my kids catches something from a classmate or friend. It has become a regular practice to cancel play dates or meetings because either my kids are feeling ill or someone else is sick. With many illnesses being contagious, I never want to burden someone else with a sickness my kids or I might be carrying. That would just be rude, right? Often times I feel like we treat others with a spiritual or emotional sickness the same way. If Christ came to help the "sick", then why do we as Christ followers often push the sick away? We would rather spend time with those we perceive as "healthy" and ask the "sick" to go away until they are better. No parent tells their sick child to go away and come back when they are feeling better. Child services would get called on that parent! What makes us think that the Father of us all would want us to treat the sick among us like this? (Mark 2:17) When we become Christ followers the two greatest commandments given to us are to 1. love God and 2. love others. But the question to ask is "how?" How do I love a God I cannot tangibly hug? How to I love a person who is difficult to love? It would take MUCH more than a blog post to answer that question and still my response would be inadequate. Join me in praying over this this week. Because my next question is, can we truly call ourselves "Christ followers" if we are not loving the un-lovable or "sick"? Has God put people in your life who would be considered "sick"? Do you find yourself canceling on them until they can get "better" on their own? No matter what may ail us, the prescription remains the same. Pray this week for God to show you how you can be a friend to the friendless and a help to the helpless. The Great Physician is ready and willing. He has called us to love the sick, serve the broken, and bring them to Him; where they can find healing. ? Verses for thought: Luke 6:33 "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even "sinners" do that?" Matthew 22:36-40 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Matthew 25:36 " 'I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' " John 13:35 "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 

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