We are called to a life of loving others. “Let us love one another” (1 John 4:7, 11, 21). That simple command is both beautiful and demanding.

Love, according to Scripture, is not reserved for those who are pleasant, agreeable, or easy to be around. We are not called to love because someone is lovable or because they fit our mold of righteousness. The command is much deeper than preference or compatibility.

We are called to love people who are just like us—flawed, imperfect, and carrying their own set of struggles and hang-ups.

Loving imperfect people does not mean we agree with everything they believe or condone every lifestyle choice they make. It does mean we choose to treat them with dignity, patience, and grace. It means we refuse to let irritation, offense, or disagreement harden our hearts.

This kind of love is not manufactured by human effort. It is “from God.” Scripture tells us that God is love. Wherever the life of God is truly present, His love will be evident (1 John 4:12). And where that love is absent, something is missing in our spiritual life.

Ray Stedman once wrote, “It is no good claiming that you know God if the love of God is not found in your life. If you cannot treat people objectively and see through the irritating qualities that may offend you and be nice to them because they are in need of love, if your reaction to those who offend you is one of opposition, rejection, and instant antagonism, then it is no good saying you belong to God. That is not God’s life; that is not God’s love.”

That’s a sobering reminder. The clearest evidence of God’s life in us is not how much we know, but how deeply we love—especially when it’s hard.

May we be people who love imperfectly, because we ourselves have been loved perfectly.