Do I love my enemy?
Do I turn the other cheek?
The answer to both of these questions is unfortunately mostly NO. This passage didn't make me feel too good about myself because if we take it even further... I barely love my neighbors and I'm usually all for the "eye for an eye" principle as I have quoted it and rationalized it as Biblical many times in my life.
How then, can I be a child of God? My nature IS the antithesis of Christ. I'm sitting down and doing my devotional late as I just got back home from the airport and realized that it was my day to blog...all of this after I cursed the airlines for delaying my flight 2.5 hours, was internalizing my hatred for the guy that sat next to me on the plane that was definitely over his side of the arm rest, shaking his legs, took off his shoes and was pointing his smelly feet at me, then proceeded to snore for 1/2 the flight.... the woman in front of me that had to recline her seat ALL THE WAY back, the man behind me that kept kicking the back of my chair....oh I could go on... but I won't... I realize the divide between God and myself is so great...and am SO THANKFUL for his boundless mercy. Good Night!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
haha! i was reading your list and i realized that i probably do six out of the six annoying habits that you mentioned when i'm on the airplane!
It's definitely one of the toughest challenge I face at work. I have this nasty attitude where I feel like, if anyone who is not with me is against me. and I feel like I HAVE to put them in their place. but like R.C. Sproul said, if God decided to be fair with me and put me in my place, oh gosh, i would be in trouble.
Everything in us tells us that we should hate or at the very least 'ignore' or 'dispise' our enemies. And yet Jesus said the humanly impossible. It's hard enough, sometimes to 'love' even the people we 'like'. But to 'love' our enemies, who desires our destruction or won't bat an eye if something bad happened to us, well that seems humanly 'unreasonable'. If anyone were to say something like that, I think we would just ignore him or call him a fool... a spineless individual... or a "naive idealists". But these words, that commands us to love our enemies came from the very lips of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I too will join with Christine, Dave, and Jeetae in confessing to God that loving our enemies is the farest thing in my mind. I want to see "justice"... an eye for an eye is so satisfying! So is this command possible to obey? Or is it meant to cause us to stretch the boundaries of our understanding about love and who we are to include among those whom we love? I think both.
Jesus said these words to turn upside down the "traditions" and the false religiousity of the Pharisees who prided themselves in loving God and their neighbor. Only their definition of 'neighbor' was narrowly racial and religious. Not only that, but Jesus basically turned upside down their understanding. Instead of hating our enemies we are to love our enemies.
How can we 'love' our enemies? We all have enemies, someone who doesn't like us and wishes ill against us - whether because of jealousy, pride, or just down right evil... people who delight in seeing people fail.
Now Jesus is the only person in the history of the world to have loved his enemies. And the only way we can learn to love others including our enemies is to learn the secret from Jesus. Jesus made this invitiation to his disciples when he said to them: "come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls." I'm glad Jesus said those words, "...learn from me for I am gentle..." Even though we are so unfaithful yet Jesus is ever gentle towards us. Thank you Jesus! We must look to Jesus if we are to find the heart and the ability to love, including our enemies.
Posted by Pastor James
that was a really long post Pastor James!! are you giving us "indirect" sermon? hahahaha
I think loving your enemy is the most difficult of all the laws. But I love you Jeetae.
Post a Comment