To Know is To Love

I never really thought much about the saying, "To know is to love," until the last couple of years. It just never clicked. It was always just a saying to me.

But, lately, I've been applying it to my life. The more I'm really getting to know people. To know what makes them tick. To know what makes them sad. To know the pains they've gone through. Makes me love them more.

You know, those people who drive you a little crazy? The people you really don't want to see, because they get on your nerves a bit? It's some of those people that I've grown to love, because I've gotten to know them.

Maybe they were abused as a child, maybe their significant other left them or cheated on them, maybe their mom is dying of cancer. Have you really stopped to get to KNOW someone before you judge. Have you given that one person, who God created in His image, a chance?

Sometimes it's hard for us to open up to people and let them see the real us, when the real us is who we want people to love. We want them to know who we really are. We want to be understood, but we keep people at bay so that we don't have to open up and be vulnerable. Why do we try so hard to be someone we're not?

Through this START Experiment, I've gotten to know some pretty amazing people. I don't know all of their little quirks that might annoy me because I haven't sat and talked with them face to face. But people feel safe in this community and they're opening up. Sharing things that maybe they haven't shared with anyone, ever. It makes me love them. Not in a cheesy, creepy way. But, honestly love them. Love the human that God has placed here at the same moment in time as me.

My love for people has grown immensely and I think it's because my love for Jesus has grown immensely. The same applies to him. The more I know him, the more I love him. And the more I know him, the more I know his heart, which is always about people. Therefore, I love people.

So weird, saying that. I love people. People used to drive me crazy. I didn't have time for that. I didn't have time for someone else's nonsense. How sad. How many amazing relationships have I missed out on because I'm just not taking the time to get to know someone?

I want to know. Like really know. Lots of people! I want to be so in tune with Jesus that I can't help but love people.

Who do you need to spend a little extra time with just to get to know them so that you can love them?