I have a neighbor that I may have to encounter soon. Everyone I have talked with does not like this man. He is mean and aggressive. He has even hurt some of my extended family through unnecessary actions. I don't want to encounter him, but I probably will. We share a fence and some trees have fallen on the fence. I will have to cut them to spare the fence. He is not going to like this and a meeting between the two of us may be inevitable.
I have thought about this for awhile. I have thought of my reactions and what I might say to him.
These verses remind me that I am to love him and whatever I say or do I need to do so in love. That's hard! I would like to speak to him like I imagine he is going to speak to me! But I must remember that how I would like to respond and how Christ wants me to respond are two different things!
But, notice, Christ does not call us to ignore our enemies. Instead we are to take action. We are to actually get in our prayer closets and PRAY for our enemies. And not pray for bad things to happen to them, but to pray for their good. That God will draw them to Himself. That they will experience His love as we have.
And love does not mean that we ignore or avoid them. We actually seek their good! How hard is that! It's very difficult. But isn't that what Christ did for us and them? He died for ALL of us. Not just me, but my enemies as well. We are never more like God than when we love. And perhaps we are MOST like God when we love our enemies.
