lurrve/luv/LOVE?

There are many lectures, many tutorials that i've attended and have long forgotten about.
But there are some that i've seriously taken to my heart and still think about all the time…

One lecture that i took to heart really closely was a sociology lecture.
The prof started with the question, "why do we socialize?" "Why do we interact with others? During that class, he outlined the reasons why we would try to make relations with other people and why we would initiate any sort of interactions. Why? Because: i) we learn norms and values, and that requires interaction; ii) we gain valued resources from interaction and we compete to maximize our gains; iii) we interact with people who we think can be of benefit to us.
After that lecture, I gave much thought to how I “chose” people to hang out with, why I had the friends I had… What I realized was, was how sad it was… that it was true.
For example, a man walks into a bar, on the right is one majorly hot chick with a scandalous bikini and micro-mini skirt, who smells fresh and fruity, and on the left- a woman with a beard, unplucked eyebrows, has a funky smell, wearing an oversized t-shirt which says “I love Mickey mouse” on it. Which side would he pick to sit in?
Okay I’m being a little dramatic here, but if you think closely, you realize that the above three points do apply in our daily lives and in a way govern the way we communicate and who we choose to have relations with.
The man, regardless of his “horniness” (sorry), or stature, or whatever, is definitely going to choose the “HaWt” side as he thinks he would at least have a chance or have his opportunity of taking pleasure in “eye candy”- that is a “benefit” for him.
How DO we choose who we interact with? With people who we are similar to? Of people we share similar interests in? Of attractive people?
The professor said that we are usually more drawn to attractive people because we feel like there is more to gain from them than people with like, say, the “I love mickey mouse” shirt.
We also compete… to maximize our gains… is that true?
I’m not talking about just attractive people, how about the people with a lot of wealth- you often see people that sit on the passenger side of a Ferrari- a friend or some sort? Or a moocher? (I’m not saying that ALL rich people have moocher friends, true friendship exist in every class haha…’tis but a crappy example, once again)
Or how about people with power? Do YOU want to hang out with the president (of loserville)? haha j/k
Anyway, what I’m trying to say, minus my crappy analogies/examples, is that as cynical as that sounds, it is true.
What I realized was how “yeen sut” (‘practical’/’real’ in Chinese) people are, and after that class, it really opened my eyes to be more aware of why people would choose to talk to me, and how I always questioned motive and what I had to offer to people to make them believe I could benefit them. As insightful as that lecture was, it made me super duper insecure. It made me doubt my own choice of who to love and who NOT to love, and most importantly WHY those decisions.

And then when I put GOD into the equation…
God tells us to love our neighbours. He never told us to “love the ones that you feel are beautiful in your eyes” or “love those who you think can maximize your gains”. NO. Jesus loves everyone, regardless of how they look, how much they have to offer. Jesus does not ask to be loved in return, although it would be a bonus if you did. He loves even those who hated him, mocked him, spat on him, whipped him…and nailed him on the cross. He loves the crippled, the blind, the ones with leprosy, the weak, the strong, the smart, the dumb- he loves everyone equally and with much compassion.
If a person was the president of loserville, would you want to befriend him? What if he/she had lice orbiting around his/her head and had B-O SO evident that you could see that wavy stinky gas emitting out of him/her, and he/she offered to shake your hands? Would you do that? Or would you say, “say…hey! look over there” and run away instantly?
Or even with children, do we only want to take care of cute children? Think about how it is for the “uncute” children as they stand in the corner to watch just how much attention the cute ones get?

I feel so compelled to say all this because God taught me so much on love when I was in Manitoba. There were children of whom were just so tough to love, that did not want to open up to you, that was rebellious beyond comprehension. Some just seemed SO “unloveable” yet God still loves them all, very dearly.
I do not wish this as a “lesson” to teach y’all, because I feel like I too often fall into the trap of just loving those who are in my own comfort zone. It IS a struggle for me to reach out to people outside my comfort, and this is truly my heartfelt confession. If I ever left anybody out, I hope that you could forgive me. I really want to be able to love.
I want to be able to love the president of loserville even if it takes a lot of lice shampoo or nose plugs. No, I’m just kidding. Well, the lice part is true, because I don’t really want lice. But learning how to love is to see past that. Loving like Jesus is to NOT CARE about what’s on the outside, because, as cheesy as this sounds, beauty is on the inside. And our job as Christians is to be able to dig that out and tell other people just how beautiful they are regardless of their physical appearance. Although a shower would be nice. Omg I can’t believe I said that.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE- is what I yearn for, and what God yearns for in all of us.
If Jesus loved us only for benefit, or gains, or to compete, he wouldn’t love any of us, because we really don’t have much to offer, we’re not that loveable ya know? He loves us unconditionally. (GRACE POWAH. YAH!)

I’m not saying that everybody loves conditionally, I’m saying that it is easy to “choose” who we want to be with and who to love. And I’m also trying to say, is that we SHOULD love everybody regardless.
It is hard. But it’s not impossible, as Cora said last night in prayer meeting.

Forgive me if I made any grammar mistakes. I am not a person of flawlessness. I suck at “anglais”/ “ying mun”/ “ing-geh-leesh-ee”. And I am a lazy bum who do not like to double check. Please love me. (HA HA HA- THE PICTURE)

And now I shall conclude with His words:

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
-John 15:12-13

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
-2 Corinthians 8:9

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”
-Luke 6:27-36