You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. Matthew 5:43-45
We are to love everyone even our enemies. It sounds like a tall order. This command includes people we don’t care for and people who maybe even trying to harm us, which sounds like an insurmountable task. We may say in our hearts in a very wide Agape sense that we love everyone. We don’t wish anyone harm and we hope everyone the best. This is the high level psychological framework that we allow ourselves when we think of this command. But then the hard work of daily living comes into play. We may have to cross paths with people who are mean, use harsh words or “despitefully use” us. And suddenly, loving others is a distant memory. So there lies the challenge not only to get along with others but to love them. I believe that these encounters allow us to see a little of ourselves and possibly expose areas that require more work in our hearts and minds. We may be required to be less offended by daily mishaps, to be more forgiving, or to have more mercy or compassion toward one another. It is our command from the Savior to do, so that the world will see the light in us.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love-not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. I John 4:7-10
Terri's Wellspring 