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Someone came up with the three categories of love:

If love.
Because love.
In spite of love.

"If love" goes like this: I will love you, if. I will love you if you treat me like royalty, I will love you if you do what I asked you to do, I will love you if you don't do something stupid.

"Because love" looks something like this: I love you because you're handsome or because you're pretty. I love you because you're funny. I love you because you make me feel good.

You can probably guess what "in spite of" love is all about. In spite of love says, "I love you in spite of your failures. I love you in spite of your faults. I love you in spite of the way you treat me."

The story of our lives should be impossible to tell without mentioning "in spite of" love. John said, "We love because he first loved us" (1 Jn. 4:19). How did he love us? "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).

Today, love someone "in spite of" _____. The world, including your world, will be a better place if, and because, you do.