Loving Those Who Are Hard To LoveSample

Loving Those Who Are Unable to Repay You

God is honored when we do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed and love those who will never be able to repay. A compassionate, self-denial is necessary to love someone fully, expecting nothing in return. The people who need you most can never repay.

The love that these verses describe reaches out to those in need without looking for payback. It gives freely and graciously—just like Jesus did for us. Rather than catering to the rich, the movers and shakers, or the powerful, take time to show compassion to those who will never repay you. 

Learn from the life of Livingstone, a child in Uganda. He is the youngest of four children born to the same mother, each with different fathers. His mother, Sarah, was an alcoholic and depressed because she was unable to adequately provide for her son.

Life with an alcoholic mother is difficult. Sometimes, he would avoid home so he didn’t have to be around his mom’s unpredictable behavior. Their relationship became increasingly strained. Livingstone also began acting out his frustrations at school, where his academic performance was poor. He would start fights with other children and often miss class.

Thankfully, Livingstone was enrolled in his local Compassion center. His sponsors, Heather and Mark, faithfully wrote letters to Livingstone, encouraging him to be the man God called him to be. His sponsors even traveled to Uganda several times to visit Livingstone.

Heather and Mark loved him even when he was hard to love. They provided the funds necessary to send Livingstone to a boarding school. Even so, he performed poorly. In fact, he failed his final primary school exams, and no secondary school would admit him because of the poor results. Heather and Mark were disappointed but did not give up on him. They agreed to give him another chance.

Livingstone then transferred to a Christian boarding school. Livingstone finally began to experience success. He passed his final primary school exam and obtained admittance to a good secondary school. Conditions at home also began to improve. With the consistent counseling of the Compassion center staff, Livingstone’s mother had stopped drinking. She has also accepted Christ as her Savior.

Today at 17, a changed Livingstone dreams of becoming a doctor just like his sponsor, Heather. “Here, medical clinics are few and scattered,” he says. “I want to help people when they are sick.” Livingstone is now a responsible young man. He cares about his work. He is determined, ambitious and diligent.

A loving and loyal advocate can change a life. Despite the difficulties Livingstone went through, and despite how he tested his sponsors, they never gave up on him. And because of it, he is a changed man. Who can you pursue with such loyalty? Who in your life needs the love and support like Livingstone was given by his Compassion sponsors?

Prayer:

God, I know that You love each of Your children so deeply. And they need exactly the same things I need. May You give me the strength to selflessly care for Your children, even though they may never be able to repay me. Help me to step out in faith, understanding Your amazing love for them. May I share Your love without expecting anything in return.

Compassion is proud to provide stories of their children with Christ-loving people like you. Will you consider opening your heart to serve a child in poverty like Livingstone? Consider sponsoring a child and showing God’s love to him or her.