Created to bring my Father glory!

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

(Matthew 5:43-45)

So who ever said to hate your enemy anyway? This was misconceived principle the Pharisees came up with from Moses' writings. (Leviticus 19:18)If the Lord could have loved us, while we were yet His enemy (Romans 5:8), then who are we to even have anger against anyone who may come against us? We should understand their motives . . . their bitterness . . . their need for a Savior.

While we are not called upon to be trampled upon, we are called upon to pray for thse who harm us. Rather than despise them, we are to love them as Christ loved us. We are even called to have compassion upon them.

If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.

(Romans 12:20)

When other who do harm to us, whether physically or emotionally, purposely or unknowingly, Jesus challenges us to meet their glaring needs. If Christ could reach out and save my soul, why can I not have a smile for the one who cuts my heart? Why can't I pray for the one who will slander my name? Why can I not share a kind word with the one who misrepresents me? Why can't I feed the emptiness in a lost soul with a Word from God?

I am always reminded that this life is not my own . . .I am created to bring my Father glory!