Love Your Enemies WHEN JESUS SAYS “Love your enemies,” does he mean you? And how shall I love you when you do evil? And why should I? I believe that I must love you because we have been given to one another for that purpose. In some dark and mysterious way, we are gifts to one another. We have been given the historical moment, the circumstances, and the call to encounter in each other the very powers of darkness and light that afflict and heal this fallen world. And our assignment – yours and mine – lies in that in that encounter. We are here to learn how to love, how to exercise the power of love, even unto death, even toward those who violate what we hold dear. I believe that I must love you because my life depends on it. Not only the life of my body, but the life of my soul. Indeed, we seem to have no guarantee that the body won’t be destroyed in the process of learning to love. But until I learn to love you, I am likely to remain in the squalor of my own self-righteous judgments, protecting my own point of view, condemning and cutting off some who may be the very strangers sent to give me a chance to offer the cup of cold water. I need to remember that the needy come clad in everything from rags to turbans to miniskirts to Armani suits. I need to remember that need sometimes looks like evil, and that it is perilous to judge too quickly which is which. - Anger: Minding Your Passions
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 12:46:54 +0000