Luke 6:27-28 “But to
you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who
mistreat you.
The early Christians experienced much persecution. St. Paul
before his conversion felt it was his mission to track them down and have them
arrested and killed. He was their enemy
and they were also his enemy. He challenged
their lives; they challenged his belief system.
In the end he realized they were not the enemy but were actually in very
right standing with God.
Yesterday I previewed a movie for the next film festival
series. It was a documentary on a
charitable organization that brings free medical care internationally to poverty
stricken areas. The location featured
was in East Tennessee. The movie put faces and feelings on the current debate
over legislation for affordable health care although it did not take any
political stance. Yet it made me step
back and realize that while we debate the merits of the current legislation on
a cerebral level it affects real people in very real ways be it positive or
negative. You and I may not have any
personal enemies – someone out to deliberate harm us, but what if we count as
enemies anything that challenges our comfort zone, our current belief
system. Jesus says love your enemies. We
should love things that challenge us in this way. We are not the end all, be all and know
all. Like Paul, we may have something
wonderful to learn from our “enemies.”
Hopefully it won’t take God striking us blind on the roadway to bring us
to our senses.
Loving God, scripture says that you are kind to all, even
the wicked. Help us to love you, to love our neighbors even our enemies and to
be open to different ideas than our own. Give us the power of discernment and
wisdom that we may sense what is true and right according to your will. In Jesus’ name we ask all things. Amen.
Blessings,
Paige
Paige
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