Lisa Barry: Do you have someone in your life who is really hard to love? Maybe love isn't even the issue. Maybe you don't even like this person. Is it the obnoxious mother at the baseball field? Or how about the telemarketer who calls during suppertime and won't let you hang up? Surely we're exempted from loving these people. Right?

Well, today on Gateway To Joy, Elisabeth Elliot wraps up this series on the love of God and challenges us to demonstrate it in our own lives. Here she is.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, talking with you again today about the omnipotence of love.

Earlier this week, I read to you a letter from a woman who told me about the five changes that were made in their home when they began to love God in a much more practical and necessary way. The first thing was consistency in Bible reading and prayer.

Then she told about a change in the way she trained her children. Then the teaching of hymns. They began to learn to sing hymns. Fourth, after breakfast, "Each day we all kneel together in prayer." Fifth, and she said this has been the most difficult for her and still is, "But I believe it's the most important perhaps. You always tell us to have godly submission to our husbands. Mine offers me many opportunities to submit." If we love God, we're going to do what He says.

In Colossians 3 we have a passage that really describes the method of remaining in love in a marriage in such a way that there will never even be a consideration of divorce. "Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is hidden now with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."

From here on, here is a formula for a happy, lasting marriage. Verse 9 says, "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

How did you treat your husband or your wife this morning? Was it with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience? I can imagine that many of you are saying, "No, no, no. None of the above."

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace, and be thankful." The omnipotence of love.

Jesus said, "If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him and We will come and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching." How many times God reminds me that if I am disobedient to my husband, for example, disobedient to someone who is put over me in the Lord, disobedient to my boss, disobedient to the traffic rules, I am not exhibiting the love of God. "If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him and We will come and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching." Clear proof that the evidence of love is obedience.

Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." That should sober us. "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

Parents, don't forget to set an example of godliness for your children. They are watching you like hawks. Those bright eyes don't miss a trick. They hear the harshness in your voice when you speak to your spouse, or the harshness when you're correcting them. They see the duplicity in your face if you're lying to them. Set an example of godliness. Teach them to love, which means to do what they don't feel like doing for the love of God.

Your children should be given chores. I certainly hope that every wise parent who is listening to me knows that. If there are some unwise parents listening to me, maybe you could gain a little wisdom. My parents were very strict about giving us chores to do. There were four boys in our family and two girls. We girls of course did most of the indoor work and the boys did most of the outdoor work. But my mother was very insistent that my brothers should learn to wash and wipe dishes.

I had a letter from one mother who told me that her son was nine years old. Because he had two sisters, he didn't see any reason in the world why he had to wash dishes. To my rather amused surprise, she said, "I think he ought to wash dishes, but I can't think of a good reason to give him."

Well, it seemed rather simple to me. I suggested that she point out to the child, "I cooked the dinner. You ate it. Why shouldn't you help clean up?" A boy needs to learn to wash dishes just as much as a girl does, because the time may come when he is not going to have a wife to wash dishes for him and he will have moved out from home. He is not going to have parents who will do all the dishes for him, so he needs to learn the basics of housekeeping.

When perplexed, you ask God to show you His way. If it has something to do with another person, it's very likely that God will point to the word "love." Love him. Love her. Love will show you what to do.

I have a dear friend who owns an apartment building. She has one lodger who has been giving her an extremely hard time. This woman doesn't get along with the other people in the house and she breaks the rules of the house. She has made it very clear to my friend that she has no intention of moving out.

My friend is a Christian, and of course she could go to the law. She could get an eviction notice. This woman does not pay her rent on time. She had broken any number of the rules of the house. Legally, my friend would have every right to evict her.

She has wept and cried and prayed over this. But she has also consulted God's Word. God's Word has some rules for us which are in harmony with divine love, but which make absolutely no sense to the secular mind. Rules such as "Don't resist an evil person." Don't resist an evil person? Yes. That's what Jesus said.

He said, "If somebody hits you on one cheek, turn the other one. If somebody wants you to walk a mile with him, go with him two miles. If somebody takes your coat, give him your cloak, too." That sounds ridiculous. That sounds impossible. We're talking about the omnipotence of love. Love suffers all things. Love never fails.

I saw my friend's daughter in church a few weeks ago. I said, "How is your mother doing?" She said, "Oh. Can you believe what is going on in that apartment? Can you believe that woman? We can't get her out of there. Mom has been crying and praying. She hasn't had a night's sleep for weeks." Later on, I had a chance to talk with my friend. I said, "Do you know what you're going to do? Are you going to give her the eviction notice?" She said, "We have decided that we will allow her to stay until she finds another place."

Now that cost my friend much more than I can imagine, I'm sure, because my friend is one of the most gracious, godlike women that I know. I consider her one of my very closest friends. She is to me an icon of godly womanliness, of unselfish, of omnipotent love. She will go the second mile. She will give you her cloak. She will do anything for you.

But that love has been tried. It has been tested in every imaginable way by that one utterly un-get-along-with-able renter. But love never fails, the Scripture says. "This is how we know what love is-that Christ laid down His life for us, and we in our turn are to lay down our lives for each other." That's what she's doing.

Lisa Barry: We only have a short minute left, but there is still time to purchase a copy of the book by Elisabeth called LOVE HAS A PRICE TAG. You'll appreciate its practical and straightforward approach to authentic love.

The cost is $13.50. You can send that, along with your request, to Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or call toll-free: 1-800-759-4JOY. Don't forget to check out our Web site. It's changing all the time. That address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible. We depend on God through you to make it possible.

Monday Elisabeth begins a new series on God's amazing guidance, so I hope you'll join us then for the next Gateway To Joy.