10 Sep 2015
When Jesus says, “Love your enemies,” we have to ask: “Who is my enemy?” It sounds very black-and-white: “Love your
enemies.” It sounds like we’re the good
guys and they’re the bad guys . . . whoever “they” is. But, as we know, it’s a lot grayer than
that. None of us is entirely “good,” and
none of us is entirely “bad.” And so, who
is my enemy? Well, sometimes we can be our own worst
enemy.
“Love your enemies,” Jesus says. And this could just be another way he’s
trying to teach the “Golden Rule” or the second Great Commandment: “Do unto
others what you would have them do to you.
And love your neighbor as yourself.”
We love our “enemies” because, sometimes, we can be an “enemy” to them.
If we’re ever too judgmental of someone—even justifiably so—we
withhold God’s mercy from them. If we’re
condescending or prideful, we can be an unintentional enemy of love and of
those we’re called to love. It isn’t all
black-and-white; sometimes we’re the
enemy of love; though, most of the time we are not.
“Love your enemies,” Jesus says. Be merciful to those who sin against us, just
as we hope they will be merciful to us when we sin against them.
Love your enemies; love your neighbor as yourself.
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