There is someone I am around constantly and I simply do not like them. Is it possible to love someone you cannot stand?

“Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”

Leviticus 19 is a list of laws for daily village life, where you could not simply avoid a difficult neighbour or move across town. It forbids hating your brother in your heart, requires you to speak to him honestly rather than nurse it privately, and then lands on loving your neighbour as yourself. Love here is a set of obligations about conduct and honesty, not a feeling you are asked to manufacture.

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.”

Jesus is teaching a crowd living under occupation who had real enemies, so none of this was abstract to them. He tells them to love, to do good, to bless, to pray. Every single command is something you can do while your feelings lag some distance behind. He never tells them to feel warmly first, which is a relief if you have been treating your dislike as disqualifying.