Do you wonder about social interactions, why they are so complex? Life would be much simpler without personalities—different and difficult personalities—coming together in families, at work, in church life, and in outreach to the world. So, why does the Lord put us through the hard work, the constant adjustments required by relationships? Because He is more interested in our maturity than in our comfort. He values labor and sacrifice. Above all, He wants us to learn to love, even to love the unlovable.
Love, of course, is not a tool. Love is who we are. Rather, it is who we are becoming as we imitate our Father (Ephesians 5:1-2). “God is love” (1 John 4:8), and He commands us, “Let love be genuine” (Romans 12:9). So, love is not a tool for occasional use, not something we switch on and off as needed. Understanding that, we note that effectiveness in evangelism calls for us consciously to develop traits of love.