Love your enemies

Martin Luther King once said, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."

Jesus said basically the same thing in Matthew 5:43-45, "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 sons of your Father in heaven."

Every night on the news, we hear horrifying reports from Iraq. In a recent Breakpoint Commentary, Charles Colson shared this moving story about a U.S. triage facility doing its best to save the lives of two Iraqi insurgents:

He said, "The U.S. medical team moved heaven and earth to save their lives. One insurgent, however, was not going to survive unless he got 30 pints of blood…

The call went out for volunteer donors; minutes later, dozens of GIs had lined up.

At the head of the line was a battle-hardened soldier named Brian Suam. Asked if it mattered that his blood was going to an insurgent, he smiled and said no—"A human life is a human life."

Jesus said that we are to love our enemies, that we may be sons of our Father in heaven."

The phrase "sons of your father" is an idiom; it means "that you may be like your father in heaven.

We are never more like our father than when we love those who don't love us. When we refuse to retaliate, even if the other person is wrong. When we seek to make restitution for our own wrongs. When we respond to mistreatment with kindness. When we extend our generosity to all who need it. That's how we show his love. That's how we become perfect, like our heavenly father is perfect.

May the ability to love those who are our enemies become part and parcel of our lifestyle as people who follow Jesus Christ.