September 10
Love Your Enemies
Today's Gospel: Luke
6:27-38
Today’s
Gospel: Luke 6:27-38
(Love Your Enemies)
“But I say to you
that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those
who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the
cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not
withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and of him who
takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do
to you, do so to them. "If you love those who love you, what credit is
that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to
those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the
same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is
that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love
your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your
reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is
kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is
merciful. "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you
will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be
given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will
be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get
back."
Reflection:
I have no
enemies. If people hate me, so be it; I don't hate them back. God knows my
heart, and that's enough for me. My only goal and purpose in this life is to
serve my Lord, and in serving Him, I love everyone. I'm not here to hate or to
judge anyone. I'm here to love, and I want to be an example of that love whether
I get love back or not. The love I have is the love Jesus already poured into
me, and I'm just trying to let it move through me instead of getting in its
way.
How do I (we)
love someone who hates me (us)? Not with anything I've got on my own; I'm not
working from my own supply; I'm working from His. The same love Jesus poured
out for the people who nailed Him to the cross is the love He's poured into me
(us). So, I pray for the people who hate me. I pray for the people who just
don't care for me. God knows my heart, and He knows theirs too. I simply do my
best to love like Jesus loved, because His love is already in me, waiting to be
spent, not stored up. It won't always be easy; I promise you that. Some people will
hate you even more if you simply love them in return. Let them!
And I know my
life is too short to leave that love sitting unused. So much time (years,
decades) gets wasted on anger, pride, and grudges. So little gets spent pouring
out the love I've already been given. The clock is ticking, and I get less time
here every day I'm alive. I think about what my family, my community, my little
corner of the world would look like if I let His love move through me instead
of holding onto my hurt. That's what I want my focus to be as a child of God.
Let there be peace and love, and let it begin with me.
What would I change on my schedule this week if I actually lived out of the
love Jesus has already poured into me, instead of the anger the world keeps
handing me?
Rosary Man Jim
🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.
