Love Enemies
Matthew 5:43-48: 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[b] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Leviticus 19:18: 18 ” ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
In the ancient times every nation had it’s own God or gods. People believed that there is a god for every nation. This kind of understanding has been a ground for the law of loving own people or neighbors (people of your nation who have the same god as you do) and hating enemies (people of other nations who have other gods, that you don’t believe in).
What was so special about Jesus’ teaching about loving your enemy, is that Jesus introduces an idea of one God for every nation and race. Because we are all the sons and daughters of the one Heavenly Parent, we have to treat each other as own people and neighbors even if we have a different skin color or different language. That was a totally new concept two thousands years ago.
What about now? Do we still believe that there is a god for every nation and every church? Do we understand that there is only one God – Heavenly Parent of every human being living on Earth and in the Spirit World?
When we have the understanding that our Heavenly Parent is the parent of people of the other nations and other churches, then we cannot see them as enemies any more. Even if they are negative and violent towards us, they are still our brothers and sisters who need our help, love and support.
Do you know who feels most miserable in the family if child is unhappy or hurt and crying? It is her father and mother. When people are fighting the most miserable is God. If you love God, you have to love your “enemies”, forgive them and give them another chance to live in peace and happiness with you.
That is why Jesus asked us to love enemies. Because he knew what’s in God’s heart. How much misery and pain God feels seeing people constantly fighting. Jesus loved God so much, that he wanted us too to relief God’s pain and misery. That requires loving our enemies, seeing in them our brothers and sisters, becoming one family under God.
2 Responses to “Love Enemies”
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Yesterday I was meditating about that point of loving the enemies and how Jesus after saying it asked us to be “perfect” as our Heavenly Father is Perfect.
So we are perfect when our hearts mature, and we are able to love our enemy, which does not mean that we will agree with what he or she does or says, but that we will Love him or her…bless him or her….and we won’t allow resentment in our hearts…
I have to say that it is difficult for me at this point but, I am working on it.
Blessings and thank you for your post.
Maria
Every times when I see such explanations about God’s heart they just in my mind on the conceptional level. People have common desires, but if they are not interested in God and spirit world, means they don’t experience greatness and excitnes of such things. So religious life for us should be continuous search for true, utmost and real freedom and happiness. In this way, living your worst enemy and seen him (her) with true parental loving eyes, is one of the most important step. As it already said, this means to be perfect(round) as God is. This is difficult. But because of this it exciting and most fruitful for our life. This is real method to step from conceptual religious life to alive and conscious life.