Am I Loved?Sample

Loving the Unlovely

From the moment Teddy walked into Ms. Thompson’s fifth grade classroom, she took an immediate dislike to the boy. She knew it was wrong. He was dirty, he smelled funny, and his intellect left a lot to be desired. She began to take immense pleasure in marking red x’s on his papers. 

As the holidays approached, Ms. Thompson felt compelled to look up Teddy’s school history. What she found made her wish she had done so sooner. Teddy had started out well in first grade, but his mother’s illness while he was in second grade and her subsequent death during Teddy’s third grade year sent him into a spiral from which he had not recovered.

It was the last day before the Christmas break and Ms. Thompson’s desk was piled with gifts from the students. She worked her way down to the very last gift – a package wrapped with a brown paper bag, sealed with masking tape and decorated with hand-drawn Christmas trees and red bells. Giggles and snickers rattled through the room as she opened the gift and two items fell out onto her desk – a gaudy rhinestone bracelet with a couple stones missing and a half-empty bottle of cheap perfume. In an attempt to quell the laughter, Ms. Thompson stated that it was a lovely gift. She put the bracelet on her wrist and applied a dab of the perfume behind each ear.

After all the other students had left, Teddy came up to the desk and said, “Ms. Thompson, I’m glad you liked the gifts. Mom’s bracelet fits you perfectly, and you smell just like her now.”

Teddy left and Ms. Thompson locked the door behind him. She sat down at her desk and began to weep over her lack of love for the young lad. 

God had to break her heart that day. It is so important to try to see people’s situations. They might not appear like us or they might turn us away by something about them, but God doesn't turn away from us. When we start to understand the bigger picture, we start to see the person differently. If Jesus died for everyone, and we are to have the love of God in our lives, we must love them as well.

The story of Teddy and Ms. Thompson did not end on that Friday in December. When the students returned after Christmas, Ms. Thompson devoted all her energy towards tutoring Teddy. By the end of the school year, he had caught up and successfully moved on to the next grade. She lost touch with him when he moved to a new school.

Seven years later, a letter arrived in her mailbox. “Dear Ms. Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know that I will be graduating second in my high school class.”

Four years later, another letter arrived informing her that Teddy was graduating from university at the top of his class. The third letter arrived a few years later: “Dear Ms. Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know that as of today I am Theodore Stallard, M.D. I am going to be married in July, and I wanted to ask if you would come and sit where my mother would have sat. Dad died last year and I have no family left.”

Ms. Thompson had made a decision to love the unlovely and help the one who needed help. As a result, not only was Teddy’s life changed, but her life was also changed. That is what understanding the love of God can do in our lives.

Before God, we all have an odor; we are all unkempt. All have sinned. When God looks at us, there is nothing lovely about us. God could have turned away from us, but He is love. So instead, He sent His Son to die in our place. Jesus died not as a martyr, but as a willing sacrifice. Do not ever forget that: God loves you because God is love.

Love in Action: 

Is there someone in your life that you find hard to love? Make a daily reminder to pray for them and ask God to help you love those you come into contact with.