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As a young child, I can remember being taught that Jesus said to love your
enemies. It seemed easier then to understand, because faith came a bit easier
because you hadn't been in the world for long and the world wasn't much in
you either. However, that did not mean that you didn't hate the little boy or
girl that made fun of you at recess. The idea of loving your neighbor seems
like it would be easier at an older age, but it doesn't come any easier now
than it did during the earlier years. (Maybe it's because the stakes seem
higher if you let your guard down in the "real world.")
I claim to be a Christian, which to me, means that I do not claim to be
perfect. It
means that I have shortcomings and faults just like everybody else, (e.g. my
enemies) but when I make the claim that I am a Christian it is a claim that I
am working on my faults and shortcomings. And through that reconstruction and
remodeling of my life, I am supposed to be striving to become more Christ
like. And that means, loving my enemies.
Christ had and still has endless patience and love for all of those who
follow Him.
He had patience with Peter's on-again-off-again faith and discipleship. And,
I think, if
He'd been asked at the end of it all He would probably have proclaimed His
love for all of His disciples including Judas, the very "enemy" who betrayed
Him.
No one said that discipleship would be easy. Not even Jesus himself,
claimed that it would be easy. He asked His disciples to be the salt of the
earth in a place and time when salt was mixed with animal dung to form fuel
for fires. This strange and confusing idea is not the first or last of the
thought-provoking ideas and concepts that He left us. There is also the idea of the
first being last and the last being first in Heaven. So why should the
concept of loving your enemy enough to turn the other cheek be any easier to
grasp?
It's all so confusing. Especially since, just like the strangers we're
taught to avoid in childhood, these "bad people" are not always a bad nasty
person who you don't know. Some of our worst enemies can be our own flesh and
blood, while still others are our neighbors. (Who, by the way, we're supposed
to love, too.)
The only thing that I can think of to do in the situations where I find
myself "toe-to-toe" with any enemy is to figure out how to fight them. The toughest part
of this is that you can not stoop to your enemy's level.
Which brings up a question that I've been asking myself and God a lot
lately.
Where does all the hate and evil come from that causes people to become angry
and
violent towards people that are different than themselves? I think that some
of it comes from how we fight. There's really only one "weapon" that you can
fight with and win a permanent victory with. Love.
Love enough for self and everyone else around you to try and be patient
with the
person attacking you. If you aren't and return the hate or evil or anger it
just helps the
cancer of that hate or evil or anger to grow destroying everything around.
Good and bad included. Everyone ends up losing at that point.
So, now comes the tricky part: living this idea day in, day out. I know
that I don't
do it all the time, but I'm working towards it. I'm part of the school of
thought that you
can be part of one of two camps.
These two camps are either the problem or solution. I know that this
sounds kind
of harsh, and that the next quote isn't any less harsh, but I think that
they're both thoughts worth pondering. "There is a special place in Hell for
those who see evil being done and do nothing to stop it." I know that these
are harsh words, but I think that there's a ring of truth in it.
With this still rattling around in your mind, here's another thing to
ponder along
with it. Enemies are not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes they come along
at a time in your life in order for you to rethink and reevaluate your values
and views. Think of the straight allies we have that were once homophobic,
but how that all changed when someone, with fear in their eyes, "came out"
to them and changed their views forever. Or, the bigot whose hate has turned
to love, because of one person's patience with them that helped turn that
hate into love.
It all goes back to love. Usually all it takes for these kinds of change
is the
realization that we are all the same in one area. We all seek love from
someone or
somewhere and also from ourselves.
No one, not myself or even Christ, proclaims this to be an easy task, but
we do
proclaim that it is a worthy one to be worked towards.
Jennifer Felix is a 19 year old "cradle Presbyterian" entering her second year of college. She hopes one day to go into the Presbyterian clergy. She plans to be very active with the More Light Presbyterians and That All May Freely Serve organizations this fall.
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