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| <~~~BACK the Romans (with good reason, as far as the world was concerned), and wished them only bad things. Jesus' command to love them was radical, indeed. But Christ's command proves that love (agapao) for others is a matter of choice. It's the right thing to do. Besides, Jesus didn't say "pray for and love your enemies, if you want to." There are no if's, and's, or but's. His command was simple and clear: Pray for and love your enemies. The question is, will we obey God and "just do it?" If we don't, then: * We'll be guiltier than the person who hurt us (Mat. 6:15; Mark 11:25). * God's grace toward us will be shut off, because we're forcing distance between ourselves and him (John 15:2; Rom. 11:22). * Our enemies will be victorious over us. They'll feel satisfied, and we will continue to feel angry. * Because we'll be disobeying God, it will become easier for us to disobey him in other areas of our life. It's the ultimate "slippery slope." But if we do pray for and work toward loving our enemies: * God will bless us (Luke 6:35). * We will come closer to God. * We will "heap coals" onto the heads of our enemies (Rom. 12:20). This week's recommendation is all about love in the Bible. Short and informative, you'll find it at: http://www.christinyou.net/pages/love.html Questions Bible Question & Answer will be back next week! GOT A QUESTION? I invite you to ask it. What stumps you? I'll do my best to find an answer! To ask a question, email me at [email protected]. (c) 2003 by Kristina Seleshanko. |
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