Loving the Person in Front of You

This is a quote from Les Misèrables, which has been sung in my head since late January. At the moment, I am studying abroad in Siena, Italy, which is a small Medieval city sitting in the Tuscan countryside between Florence and Rome. It is just as picturesque as it sounds. My program is rather small, a quaint seven people including myself. Five of us come from all different corners of UVA and the two others come from their own universities. Upon the realization that I was more or less stuck with the same six faces for the next four months, I was faced with the decision to either embrace the discomfort of a small, new community or run from it. I made the decision to love the person in front of me, despite our differences, because of Christ.

Loving the person in front of me was easy at UVA. I was able to surround myself with like-minded individuals who made it easy to love them. Even beyond Grounds, I found that loving the homeless on the Downtown Mall was the obvious thing to do. My passion for loving the poor and neglected comes so naturally, how could I not love the stories of Miss Peggy’s squirrels or Johnny’s mantra of peace? I am so in love with the person of Christ that I see in each of their faces. But what about the people at UVA that are not of my social-stratosphere? 

I quickly realized that I have not given myself space or the opportunities to love those who are different from me in the University setting. Sorority sisters, fraternity brothers, and art buffs are all people whom I have shamefully separated myself from on Grounds. It was not until the intimacy of this program that I have gotten to know and have been able to love these people, whom I probably would have never sat down with at UVA. I had only seen these people, without ever trying to get to know them. Each person on this program has proven to be a blessing and to be pivotal in the narrative God has written for my life. I have learned to look beyond our differences and love them anyway.

My heart is expanding in ways that can only be explained by the love of Christ. I am convicted that loving the person in front of me is loving Christ himself. As Christ reveals Himself in those around me, I will continue loving them with the purest of ways, with the love of Christ.