Matthew 5:43-45:
"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, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
This is possibly the most difficult commandment from Christ. It is rare that I do this. In fact, I often dwell on my annoyance and dislike for certain people.
Most of us (at least I do) try to find rationale for not liking certain people. We may even try to divide love from like. "I love them, but I don't LIKE them..."
Even on this forum, I've had moments of holding back when in conflicts with others. Another enemy I struggle with loving are those I don't know...in fact, that can be even more difficult, whether they be domestic politicians, foreign politicians, or homicidal criminals.
We often talk about their wrong-doings...and we ought to because justice is something to be sought out...but how often do we pray for them because we genuinely love them? How often do we pray that their state of minds are OK despite what they do?
I fail at this constantly, and I rarely pray for my enemies. It is a real struggle of mine. We ought to remember to pray for this same love Christ had for those who crucified Him, because the more I think about it, after He told us to love our enemies, I suspect I would have wanted Him crucified too.
"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, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
This is possibly the most difficult commandment from Christ. It is rare that I do this. In fact, I often dwell on my annoyance and dislike for certain people.
Most of us (at least I do) try to find rationale for not liking certain people. We may even try to divide love from like. "I love them, but I don't LIKE them..."
Even on this forum, I've had moments of holding back when in conflicts with others. Another enemy I struggle with loving are those I don't know...in fact, that can be even more difficult, whether they be domestic politicians, foreign politicians, or homicidal criminals.
We often talk about their wrong-doings...and we ought to because justice is something to be sought out...but how often do we pray for them because we genuinely love them? How often do we pray that their state of minds are OK despite what they do?
I fail at this constantly, and I rarely pray for my enemies. It is a real struggle of mine. We ought to remember to pray for this same love Christ had for those who crucified Him, because the more I think about it, after He told us to love our enemies, I suspect I would have wanted Him crucified too.