What is a “path of least resistance”?  You’re hiking through a thick forest, off the beaten path.  As you forge through, leaves crunching under your boots, you look for the easiest way to get to your destination.  The brush is thinner over there, so you instinctively alter your path to make the hike easier.  There’s a fallen tree to your right so you go left.  You could hike over the steep hill but you go around it instead.  It’s the path of least resistance for you.

As you approach a clearing, a small stream comes into view.  The crystal water glides around the mossy rocks, having smoothed them down to rounded stones.  Over fleeting centuries, you can see the water never blasted it’s way straight through the woods, but instead twisted and turned, finding the easiest way downhill.  And as the small river effortlessly flows, the cold, silky water takes the path of least resistance.

When love takes the path of least resistance

This morning I read a question that asked how human love compares to the love of Christ.  So I listed attributes of typical human love as I’ve experienced it and, sadly, have given it:

• conditional
• self-serving
• fickle, changing
• strings attached
• temporary

Then I paused and the imagery of a stream (like the one I described above) came to mind.  So I added:

• takes the path of least resistance.

Love like a bubbling stream

I imagined human love like the bubbling stream.  When love takes the path of least resistance, as so often it does in our world and even in the church, it takes the easiest way it can.  It flows around conflict, avoiding it.  It sees that difficult-to-love person in the store and glides down the next aisle instead.  Love that takes the path of least resistance sees trouble churning in their child’s heart and just hopes they’ll “pass through this phase”.  It hears lies, knows the truth, and stays silent in fear of what others will say.  It never does the hard thing, in hopes of easily carving it’s way downstream to its restful destination.

Doing what’s comfortable

Or sometimes, love that takes the path of least resistance looks a bit different.  Sometimes this love knows what God calls it to do, but settles stubbornly into old, destructive, comfortable habits.  After all, it’s hard to change and it’s hard to love people who aren’t lovable.

Love that takes this path of least resistance does what it has always done when it’s challenged to love others.  It gossips, explodes in anger, gets bitter, puffs up with self-righteousness, or gets passive aggressive (perhaps under the guise of “tough love”).  Sometimes it does absolutely nothing, regardless of the hard thing God calls it to do.   Instead of seeing an opportunity to show the love of Christ to a difficult person, whether by sharing truth or giving grace, it does what it always does because it’s easiest.  This path of least resistance continues on as usual because change–the right kind of change–is too hard, and perhaps, too humbling.

Is it even love?

Taking the path of least resistance is actually not love at all.  It’s selfish, human love.  We pray that we can love like Christ but let’s face it:  Christ-like love is hard.

Really hard.

And we don’t want hard.  We pray for it, but we don’t really want it.  We want easy, lovable people around us at all times, not difficult love.

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is it to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.”  Luke 6:32

We say, “I’ll only love people who are lovable, treat me with dignity, believe and look just like me.  But if you challenge me with your differences, disrespect, threatening way of life, or simply your personality, you get nothing.”

So we cut people off, ignore them, avoid them, fear them, withhold affection, chew them out, or close ourselves off.  We surround ourselves with friends (seemingly) just like us who can make us feel all warm & fuzzy inside.  And we do feel that way for a little while until the next love-challenge comes.  Maybe it’s through a spouse, child, family member, or friend.  And the cycle begins again.

That is NOT love.  We can expect that from the world, but Christians are called to something better.

So how was Christ different?  And how can we truly step up to love like Christ did?

Love that took the path of highest resistance

Although human love always takes the path of least resistance, Jesus’ love always took the path of highest resistance, even to the cross. He didn’t move around the lepers, but touched them. He didn’t condemn the sinful woman but forgave her sins.  Jesus didn’t run away from the Pharisees’ trapping questions, but engaged with them.  He didn’t walk down the opposite side of the street of sinners, but ate with them in their homes.

And the most powerful, loving thing Christ ever did was walk that dreadful path up to Golgotha, suffer, and die for our sins.  Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Friends, we like to think we are lovable, agreeable people.  But have you considered how much resistance Christ faced in order to display his pure, perfect love for US?

While we avoid, explode, judge, condemn, refuse, withhold, and stay silent, Christ engaged, forgave, healed, entered in, sat with, ate with, and LOVED.  With sinners.  With US.  Christ had every right, as a holy God, to love with least resistance, but his nature is to love with most resistance.  God IS love.  Jesus does the difficult love, the challenging love, and he did it gladly, perfectly.  And because he has chosen to love US, we must choose to love others.

Will we ever be able to love like that?

In our human nature, we cannot love the way Christ did…on our own.  We are not off the hook simply because Christ did it perfectly.  In fact, Jesus gave his disciples “a new command” before he died in John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  

This is a command, not an option if the conditions are right or a choice based on how we are treated.  Can we love like Christ, with the path of highest resistance?  Can we do the difficult love when we’ve spent years doing the easy, comfortable thing?  Yes, but only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you’re ready to do the hard thing, to love the way Christ did, but you’re not sure sure if you can, you’re in good company.  Why?  Because the only way to do it will be with Christ working in you and through you, alongside Christians who are seeking to love when it’s hard, too.  And you can be comforted knowing that loving when it’s difficult is a blessing from Christ, a moment when you can join with him as he helps you become a bit more like himself.  If that’s you, please pray this confidently with me…

God, I’ve loved by taking the path of least resistance, not loving the way you call me to.  I’ve done what is wrong in your sight and turned others away from your true love because of my artificial, self-serving love.  I’ve done what’s easy for too long and I’m ready for the challenge.  God, fill me with your Holy Spirit to love when it’s hard.  Give me a right view of my own sin so I can love the way you did, the way you DO.  Bring others in my life that will grow me in this.  Help me mend relationships that have fallen because I chose the path of least resistance.  Help me take the path of highest resistance because that’s what you did for me on the cross.  Thank you for loving me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.