Ye have heard that it
hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; - Matthew 5.43-44
Everyone knows you
ought to love your neighbour. That’s grand. You see them all the time, you help
each other out. You help start their cars or watch the house while they are away
or water the plants or all those kind of things. It’s a relationship which mutual
benefits.
Great.
But how about
this? Love your enemies. Bless people who curse you. Do good to those who hate
you. Pray for those who hate you and persecute you.
How does that
sound in this terribly divided tribalistic society we live in today? How would
we impact our world if we loved those who oppose us? What if we loved our
religious enemies? What if we loved our political enemies? What if we loved the
Muslims? What if we loved the hate mongers? What if we loved the extremists?
Do you think we
would make a difference? What about if you stop to help the guy who just cut
you off in traffic?
God wants us not
only to preach about the love of God, but live it out. Jesus loved me while I
was still His enemy – can I do that for someone else?
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