Love your enemies

"You have heard that the law of Moses says "Love your neighbor" and hate your enemy .

But I say ,love your enemies !Pray for those who persecute you!"(Matthew 5:43,44)

Our nature always cries out for justice, our mind often speaks about vengeance, we can hold a grudge for a long time and store up the desire for judgment in our hearts. How do people become our enemies? I think, the first reason [for that] is that other people are totally different from us. They don't think as we think, they don't lead their lives as we believe they should live, they don't do to us things that we would like them to do, often they just tell us the truth, they make us angry and irritate us, they just drive us crazy. We totally lose control and this conflict escalates. This is how people become enemies. I have heard many wonderful sermons about "loving your enemies" but never heard one [explaining how do people become our enemies], yet this process is the most crucial.

We often see that believing men and women have more enemies than do people who live in this world without God. Whole ministries can be drawn into [prolonged] conflicts and enmity. We must realise and except the fact that we are all different. We can all think, believe and have a relationship with God differently. We need the freedom of self-expression, so that everyone can act [according to] what he feels in God's presence. When I observe conflicts between people I always notice the same thing: they become involved in a confrontation when they intrude into each other's private (personal) space, trying to control and manipulate the other person.

But now the time has come to love our enemies. I believe that God will pour out forgiveness, mercy, compassion; His love will wipe off many [regional] conflicts [that have been going on] for centuries. People will be able to accept each other in mercy, love shall cover offences that started the hatred. In our Father's love we can see His heart, and our hearts will melt and be tender.

And today we say: "Father, lead us into Your love, let us love and forgive those who are different from us. Let us esteem their freedom in You and also those who doesn't know You. LORD, cover with love the enmity that came into our families; enmity between husbands and wives, parents and children, cover with Your love the areas where there still is alienation and misunderstanding.