Where does it come from?

I am still thinking about the need we have to love others, especially those difficult people that we all have in our lives. You know, the one who out talks you in any 'discussion'. That one who always has to have the last word and by their own estimate is always right about everything. Or for you it may be the person who dispenses the silent treatment for offenses, real or supposed.
Well, you get my point. They are the people that I wish I had more love for but seem to lack it. I know that God loves them but at times, I can't seem to love them or even like them, no matter how hard I try.
Then I read this thought:
You can't become more like Christ in isolation. You learn to love like Jesus by being in a relationship with difficult people. WOW! I don't know about you, but that hit me between the eyes. I guess the point is that you interact with a person who 'goes against the grain' and you realize that left to yourself there is no way you can act kindly toward them. So you go to Jesus and ask him to love them through you.
When I have been brave enough to pray that way, the change has been amazing. As I sense God's love for me, it gives me a new perspective and I find that they are just like me in so many ways. This prickly one has needs like me, has had disappointments like me, and needs love just like me. I'm so glad that I do not have to manufacture the love I lack and that God will willingly give it to me.