This week we have been reflecting on Jesus’ command that we are to pray for and love our enemies (Matt. 5:44-45). Jesus’ words are as disruptive now as they were two thousand years ago, challenging the status quo way the world operates. A prayer for one’s enemies is disruptive. Loving action is really disruptive. And […]
Stories to Help Us Learn How to Forgive Sometimes we need a story to help us learn to forgive. We need to see and hear the struggles of real people who have wrestled with evil and come to grips with forgiveness. I want to recommend four resources to you. ONE: The first one is the classic […]
Over the years, I have had a few people who were enemies. In most cases, I was not the initiator of their enmity. I was surprised by it. However, in most cases, unfortunately, I responded to them likewise. You don’t win when you become an enemy to your enemy. Abraham Lincoln said, the only way […]
Protecting Yourself and Others From Those Who Would Hurt You In addition to the radical love ethic toward enemies (the FIRST WORDS), there are two more exceedingly important pieces of guidance. This guidance is also in the Bible. Because they are closely related, I’ll describe them together. You can and must (1) practice tough love […]
Loving Our Enemies The Sunday message on disruptive prayer for enemies centered on the radical and difficult words of Jesus in Luke 6:27-37. Read those words right now. There are 16 instructions (commands) from Jesus about dealing with enemies. Two of them are repeated, so there are 14 different instructions that revolve around loving our […]