Grace for the Hard-to-Love

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” — Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

In our Bible study this week, we wrestled with a question that was simple to ask and uncomfortable to answer: “Is there a group of people you find it difficult to welcome fully? What would it take for that to change?” Most of us could name the people we struggle with. Naming what it would take for change — that’s where the real work begins.

Genesis tells us that every person bears the image of God. But seeing that image in people who frustrate us or wound us is not easy. In fact, it’s often beyond our natural ability. And that’s the point. This kind of seeing — this kind of loving — is not something we can manufacture. It is something God must grow in us.

We cannot change another person. Only God can do that. And the truth is, we cannot even change ourselves by sheer effort. Transformation — theirs and ours — happens only through God’s love and God’s grace. 

So, we pray. We pray for the other person, trusting that God’s prevenient grace is already stirring in them, even if we cannot see it. And we pray for ourselves — for softened hearts, for patience, for humility, for the strength to respond with mercy when everything in us wants to do the opposite.

Every person is made in the image of God, but not every person yet knows themselves as a child of God. So, we pray for that transformation — that the image might become relationship, that creation might become new creation. And as we pray, God begins the slow, holy work of reshaping us. Our posture shifts. Our reactions soften. Our imagination widens. We begin to see the other person not as an obstacle but as someone God loves and is actively pursuing.

In the end, the question “What would it take for that to change?” becomes a question about our willingness to let God change us — because only grace can do what grace requires.

Gracious God, You created every person in Your image, and You alone can transform our hearts. Kindle Your grace in those we struggle to welcome and kindle Your grace in us. Give us eyes to see Your likeness in others, and the humility to be changed by Your love. Shape us into people who reflect Your mercy and patience, so that Your Spirit may work through us to draw all Your children closer to You. Amen.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Tim