Love your enemy.

Love your enemy.
********************************
Jesus has said that we should love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

Neighbours refers to all human beings.

They are not only who are around us but also who are far away from us, even in foreign countries.

There are two kinds of neighbours:

those whom we feel to love

and

those whom we don't feel to love.

People who don't hate us  come under the first category. They may be either our friends or those who don't know us.

It is easy to love them.

The people who hate us come under the second category.

They are inimical towards us and it is not so easy to love them.

But Jesus says, "But I tell you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute and insult you."

It is very easy to love our friends.

In fact they become our friends only after being loved by us.

They will remain our friends so long as they reciprocate our love and do nothing harmful to us.

Enemies are those who harbour ill will about us and harm us either through words or actions.

Loving our enemies and doing good to them is more meritorious than loving only  those who love us.

Loving our enemies means loving those who don't love us.

Love doesn't stop in the heart, it jumps into action.

When we love our enemies we repay their harm with good.

Jesus asks us to pray for our enemies.

During our prayer usually we remember ourselves and our dear ones.

But if we are true Christians we must follow the example of Jesus.

Sin is an inimical action against God.

Sinners are unfriendly with God.

Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

The Pharisees blamed Him for dining with sinners.

Soon after calling Matthew to follow Him, Jesus ate a meal with “many publicans and sinners” in Matthew’s house.(Mark.2:15)

  Matthew had been a tax collector (publican) and was considered to be a sinner.

But Jesus made him His disciple.

The scribes and the Pharisees found fault with Jesus  for spending time with sinners.

But in fact spending time with sinners in order to convert them and to bring them out of sin is Christian culture.

 We cannot find fault with a doctor for moving with patients, because it is his duty to cure the patients.

Hospital is meant for patients.

How can we save a sinking man without jumping into water?

How can we remove ignorance from our country unless the teachers move among the ignorant?

Jesus loved sinners.

He came into the world in search of sinners.

He sacrificed His life for the salvation of sinners.

Towards the end of His life on the Cross He prayed to His Heavenly Father to forgive those who crucified Him.

We cannot call ourselves Christians unless we love our enemies.

One small boy asked his father,  "Dad, Father told us in his sermon to love our enemies. I don't know what to do."

"What is the trouble?"

"I have no enemies."

"No trouble. Love all."

"Do you mean that all are my enemies?"

"Hello! Father did not ask you to love 'only your enemies'. If you love all the people, even an unknown enemy will be loved by you."

"How to destroy an enemy?"

"Very simple. Make him your friend."

Lourdu Selvam.