Upside Down

Now would be a good  time to start praying for other people.

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 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, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A 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.” - Luke 6:27-38

We tend to approach the words of Jesus from the good side, seeing ourselves as the ones being hated or oppressed, but what if we look at this upside down?

Imagine for a moment that you truly hate someone.  

You can't stand them.  Everything they say or do irks you so much you can't keep silent.  You shake your head and moan at the thought of encountering them.

Now imagine that each time you encounter this person, they smile and wish you well.

And when you go to an event, people come up to you and say how they heard from this person you hate how wonderful you are.

Your first reaction may be one of suspicion.  What is he or she up to?

Do they think they can win over everyone you know and make you look bad?

Even if the feeling isn't genuine, even if the person is doing these things to get your back up, you have to stop and take notice.

Maybe it doesn't change your opinion of them, but you can't avoid that uncomfortable feeling these actions bring.

Jesus told us to love our enemies, to love everyone.  Is that even possible?

I am sure he knew it was a challenge, but he also knew that if we start out saying and doing things that look like love, even if we don't fully commit to them, those actions will guide us to a different place.

We will begin to feel differently, whether we want to or not.

So, next time we hear that we should love our enemies, maybe we should look around at those who treat us better than we deserve.

Maybe they are following the same advice.

More to come...