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Gospel of Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said to his
disciples:“You have heard
that it was said, You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you,
love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you,
that you may be
children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his
sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to
fall on the just and the unjust...."
Loving the enemy One of the most difficult parts of being a Christian is the concept of loving the enemy. It seems impossible considering so many bad people roam the earth. Who can love a terrorist who bombs a bus full of school children? Who can love a pedophile? Who can love a thief who breaks into our home? Who can love someone who murdered a family member in cold blood?
We can learn to unconditionally love an enemy even if we dislike or despise the behavior. It takes prayer and a willingness to see them as created in the image and likeness of God. Bad people were not necessarily born in the womb that way. They learned the behavior. They chose an often destructive path in life. However, there's always a fighting chance that an enemy can become an ally.
How nice if life on earth was a perfect utopia where the concept of an "enemy" didn't exist. Everybody treated each other respectfully and kindly. Nobody harbored anger, hatred, or a grudge. Human beings lived a peaceful co-existence. Heaven is the closest to a utopia we can ever imagine!
The sun rises and the rain falls on both good and bad people. We all live in one gigantic, chaotic world together. It's up to each one of us to choose to love one another despite the evil we are exposed to. People can and do change. When we give them that unconditional love, we allow Christ's transforming grace to heal. An enemy's venom and strife becomes less deadly.
Pray for those who persecute you When we pray for those who persecute us, we are asking God to give us the strength to love and forgive our enemy for the wrong they have caused us either directly or indirectly. The tears of sadness raining down on the earth suddenly dry up and become bright rays of sunshine. We realize there is hope! Hope that God will protect us from an enemy's wrath, and hope that an enemy will no longer persecute us.
Love your enemies even if you despise their behaviors. They are still human and in a great need of prayers!
-J.
We can learn to unconditionally love an enemy even if we dislike or despise the behavior. It takes prayer and a willingness to see them as created in the image and likeness of God. Bad people were not necessarily born in the womb that way. They learned the behavior. They chose an often destructive path in life. However, there's always a fighting chance that an enemy can become an ally.
How nice if life on earth was a perfect utopia where the concept of an "enemy" didn't exist. Everybody treated each other respectfully and kindly. Nobody harbored anger, hatred, or a grudge. Human beings lived a peaceful co-existence. Heaven is the closest to a utopia we can ever imagine!
The sun rises and the rain falls on both good and bad people. We all live in one gigantic, chaotic world together. It's up to each one of us to choose to love one another despite the evil we are exposed to. People can and do change. When we give them that unconditional love, we allow Christ's transforming grace to heal. An enemy's venom and strife becomes less deadly.
Pray for those who persecute you When we pray for those who persecute us, we are asking God to give us the strength to love and forgive our enemy for the wrong they have caused us either directly or indirectly. The tears of sadness raining down on the earth suddenly dry up and become bright rays of sunshine. We realize there is hope! Hope that God will protect us from an enemy's wrath, and hope that an enemy will no longer persecute us.
Love your enemies even if you despise their behaviors. They are still human and in a great need of prayers!
-J.
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