Love Beyond Comfort
May 24, 2026
Dr. Paul Cannings
Relationships can be difficult to the point that we do everything possible to avoid them. We often try to surround ourselves only with people we “click” with rather than engaging with those God places in our path. This may be what Christ meant when He said, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). A neighbor is anyone in close proximity to us. In our culture, loving our neighbor often seems to mean loving only those with whom we naturally connect, because other relationships can bring pain and disappointment. Yet Christ teaches that God especially blesses us when we love through difficult circumstances (Matthew 5:43–48;
Romans 12:9–21).
According to a forest folktale from Northern Canada, two porcupines huddled together to stay warm during the winter. Their quills pricked each other, so they moved apart. Before long, they began shivering from the cold and drew close again, only to wound one another once more. The cycle repeated itself. They needed each other, yet they kept hurting each other. Relationships can be painful, but people survive better and grow stronger when pain drives them toward a deeper commitment to obey God (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12). As Scripture says, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments… but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected” (1 John 2:3–6).
Two little teardrops floated down a river. One teardrop asked the other, “Who are you?” The second teardrop replied, “I’m from a woman who lost her lover. And you?” The first teardrop answered, “I’m from the woman who got him.” (Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching)
In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy says to Snoopy, “There are times when you really bug me, but I must admit there are also times when I feel like giving you a big hug.” Snoopy replies, “That’s the way I am … huggable and buggable” (Robert L. Short, Parables of Peanuts).
At times, Christ may seem “huggable” when He blesses us abundantly. Yet when He appears quiet or unresponsive to our concerns, He may seem “buggable,” especially when He commands us to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you… Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” (Luke 6:27–31). Christ teaches these things because He desires both to reward us and to strengthen us at the same time:
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? … But love your
enemies, and do good… and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” (Luke 6:32–36, NASU)
Pain will either soften and mature us or harden and isolate us. Scripture teaches that growth is always the better path (James 1:2–4; 1 Peter 1:3–9).