The Broken Ones

We say we love people.
And we mean it… or at least we want to mean it.

But real love—the kind God calls us to—goes far beyond loving the people who look like us, dress like us, think like us, vote like us, worship like us, or behave the way we think they should.

God’s love is bigger than our comfort zones.

My pastor stated this so eloquently:
God loves the bartender every bit as much as He loves the barista.
He loves the Middle Easterner just as fully as He loves the Midwesterner.
He loves the prostitute as completely as He loves the preacher.

Not because of what they’ve done.
Not because of what they haven’t done.
Not because of their reputation or their record.
But because that’s who He is.

This kind of love sounds good from the pulpit.
It makes for a beautiful sermon clip online.
It earns nods from anyone who hears it.
It gives us warm feelings about being “loving people.”

But sometimes… it stops there.

Sometimes it never makes the leap from ear‑tickling truth to life‑changing obedience.

Sometimes we love the idea of loving people more than we love the reality of doing it.

Because the reality is messy.
It’s inconvenient.
It stretches us.
It places people in front of us who challenge our assumptions and disrupt our preferences.
And it pushes us to ask:

Do I actually love people?
Or do I love people who are easy to love?

If we truly believe God loves every person with the same relentless, pursuing, transformational love… then we are called to love them, too.

Not just in theory.
But in practice.
Not just from the stage.
But in the street, the workplace, the neighborhood, the clinic, the school, the shelter, the bar, the grocery store, the waiting room, the courthouse, the places we’d rather avoid, and the places we never expected to go.

Real love isn’t just proclaimed.
It’s lived.

And when we live it—when we actually love people the way God does—everything changes.
For them.
For us.
For the world around us.

Because the gospel was never meant to stay in our ears.
It was meant to move our feet.

And I was convicted by this.
I started searching my soul and examining my motives.
Not in shame, but in honesty—because if I am going to lead Kingdom Comfort Dogs with integrity, my love must move beyond comfort, convenience, and sentiment. I have to let God stretch me before I can ask Him to use me.

As I seek out God’s plan for Kingdom Comfort Dogs, this is my prayer:

Seek out the unlovable.
The overlooked.
The uncomfortable.
The ones everyone else avoids.
Because when we step toward the people the world steps away from, we walk in the footsteps of Christ.

And if it requires taking a dog to get the job done—do it.

If loving people means stepping into hard places, uncomfortable spaces, or situations where words fall flat… take a dog.

If someone won’t look you in the eye, but they’ll bury their face in the fur of a golden retriever… take a dog.

If a heart is guarded, a story is painful, or a soul feels unlovable… take a dog.

Because sometimes the most Christlike thing we can do is show up—
gentle, steady, patient—
with a creature who doesn’t judge, doesn’t preach, doesn’t flinch…
just loves.

A Word About Boundaries

Let me be clear: we cannot own other people’s problems or their consequences.
We are called to love them—but we are not called to rescue, fix, or carry what isn’t ours to carry.

Sometimes loving someone means walking with them.
And sometimes loving them means stepping back
so they can move forward
on their own two feet,
with God leading the way.

And truth be told, we are all broken.
Love does not mean losing ourselves.
Love means pointing people toward the One who can actually save them.

Let’s stop settling for love that sounds good
and start living love that costs something.

Let’s be the people who don’t just talk about God’s love—
we take it where it’s needed most.

Even if it means bringing a dog with us.

Sandy, Bruce & Moses

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. ~John 13:34-35