Matthew 5:43-47
"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Lately, we’ve had a lot of spotty rain showers. Just last week, my husband and I watched out our back windows as sheets of rain blew across the river valley below us – and barely a drop touched our yard for the longest time. How could the refreshing rain be so close… and yet so far away?
We have commented to each other that “Somebody who needs rain is getting it,” and we have been thankful for this. As our drought conditions continue, it would be easy to be resentful when our neighbors across town receive an inch of rain, and we get only a few drops. If that neighbor happened to be someone we really didn’t like, we could build up a pretty good head of steam over his/her soggy blessing. “That lousy fellow got water for his lawn, and we didn’t get any! How could God bless HIM?! What’s He doing letting THAT guy have rain and not us?!”
I hope you can see how ridiculous this is even as you read it. But if we are honest, we behave in exactly this manner about many things – and often! We cheer when our “enemy” is wounded in some way, and we gripe and complain if he/she gets a break. When we are wronged - or this happens to someone we care about - it rarely (if ever) occurs to us to pray for the offender… to ask God to soften his/her heart and to bring about a spirit of remorse and a desire for restitution. Instead, we rant and rave, wring our hands and cry… and we ask God “Why, LORD, WHY?” We treat these “enemies” with disdain – and sometimes disrespect.
What do you suppose would happen if we began to fervently and genuinely pray for our “enemies?” What if we prayed for the shooter who killed and injured more than 70 people recently in Colorado… or those who oppose the political candidates we support? Suppose we were to begin praying for those who mistreat and disrespect the people who do not share their views on everything from universal health care and gun control to abortion, gay rights and what constitutes a “traditional marriage?”
What if we prayed for those who protest at funerals and bomb abortion clinics? Have you ever considered what might happen if we prayed for the monsters that exploit little children, tyrants who are cruel and repressive toward the people under their control, and those who are so sick of mind as to torture innocent animals?
Closer to home, what if you prayed for that neighbor who drives you nuts, the kid in your class who is obnoxious, the teacher who intimidates students, the person who disagrees with your views on anything and everything, or the boss who is never satisfied with your work? What do you suppose would happen if you started to pray passionately for that church member who drives you up the wall or the crazy relative you wished belonged to another family?
I love how this passage explains that it’s easy to love those who agree with you and are so “lovable.” Loving the unlovely – or those who differ with us in some way – is much harder… but far more important! When we start to operate in love and concern for others… ALL others… we open the doors for God to step through and perform miracles. And notice I did NOT say to pray for these people to come around to our way of thinking! We are not asking God to necessarily change the other person… we are merely asking Him to work in this person’s life according to His will. This is very important!
When we take a step backward and look at even our worst “enemy” and say, “This is God’s child, too,” we begin to see this person in a different light. He/she may still be disagreeable, different, messed up, confused… or even evil. But God sees at least the potential for worth and significance – and HE has the final say. Our change in attitude may not have the effect that WE desire… but all concerned will be forever transformed as we place the judgment and outcome in God’s hands and operate totally in His love.
I suggest you start small. Pick out one person today that needs your love and prayers. Tomorrow, select another (you know there is more than one!), and pray for him/her. Notice how God works in and through you as you begin to release your negative feelings and allow Him to have complete control. Surrender to God’s will and operate in His love for ALL of His children. Make every effort to get to a place in your own faith walk where your joy comes from learning to truly celebrate when the other guy gets rain…and you don’t!
©2012 Debbie Robus
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