Tuesday, June 01, 2004
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish." Luke 6:32-35
Someone, I don't know who, recently wrote the following: I believe that when Jesus said to “bless your enemy”; he meant it for our sake as well as for the sake of the other. I really like that thought. In fact, I suspect that Jesus meant it for the healing of the injured MORE than the enemy.
Think of all the angry people of the world striking out because they were injured, and haven't been able for whatever reason to lance that injury and let the anger go, and too often what it leads to, death, destruction and the ruing of multiple lives. Recently, in the community where I live, a man came to a house where his ex and her boyfriend were living. He stabbed his ex, and thinking everyone was out of the house, set it on fire, and killed the daughter of the man who was his ex's current partner. He didn't even know she was in the house. Examples like this abound.
The current terrorist movement in parts of the world are just an extention of this - anger and hurt and self-righteousness says I can hurt you because you represent what is hurting me. This anger ooften is passed down generation after generation - it's true in North Ireland, it's true in areas with Shiite/Sunni conflicts like in Pakistan, it's Croat-Serbian conflict.
Hate and hurt normally do nothing more than begat more hate and hurt. Making your enemy suffer does nothing but cause more pain...choosing Christ's way of forgiveness, willingly forgiving as a choice not a feeling, acting loving no matter what the emotion behind the act, is the only true salve for troubled souls that can truly break through the bonds that Satan would enslave us with.
Personally, I've been there, done that, and I refuse to carry around the evil that people have done to me in my heart year after year as a festering, unhealing wound. I thank Christ for giving us this way to be healed.
Someone, I don't know who, recently wrote the following: I believe that when Jesus said to “bless your enemy”; he meant it for our sake as well as for the sake of the other. I really like that thought. In fact, I suspect that Jesus meant it for the healing of the injured MORE than the enemy.
Think of all the angry people of the world striking out because they were injured, and haven't been able for whatever reason to lance that injury and let the anger go, and too often what it leads to, death, destruction and the ruing of multiple lives. Recently, in the community where I live, a man came to a house where his ex and her boyfriend were living. He stabbed his ex, and thinking everyone was out of the house, set it on fire, and killed the daughter of the man who was his ex's current partner. He didn't even know she was in the house. Examples like this abound.
The current terrorist movement in parts of the world are just an extention of this - anger and hurt and self-righteousness says I can hurt you because you represent what is hurting me. This anger ooften is passed down generation after generation - it's true in North Ireland, it's true in areas with Shiite/Sunni conflicts like in Pakistan, it's Croat-Serbian conflict.
Hate and hurt normally do nothing more than begat more hate and hurt. Making your enemy suffer does nothing but cause more pain...choosing Christ's way of forgiveness, willingly forgiving as a choice not a feeling, acting loving no matter what the emotion behind the act, is the only true salve for troubled souls that can truly break through the bonds that Satan would enslave us with.
Personally, I've been there, done that, and I refuse to carry around the evil that people have done to me in my heart year after year as a festering, unhealing wound. I thank Christ for giving us this way to be healed.
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