Who is my enemy?

When Jesus challenged his followers to love their enemies, I am sure that he knew we would find this so hard. Even as I contemplate his words, there is a part of me that wants to resist his command, yet it still looms large in the Gospels.

“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," - Matthew 5:43-44 (Luke 9)

So, let us ask the question: 'Who is my enemy?'

The dictionary defines an enemy as "a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something." 

This throws the net even wider for us. There may not be people who are willing to draw weapons against us, but there are people who oppose our faith, or who are hostile to us. Sadly, a lot of these people choose to hide behind social media posts or some other means of communication, but they still remain in opposition to us. So, Jesus' advice to us is:  "Love those who oppose you!"

Thought: This is going to be a life-long work for me - how do you feel about what Jesus has called us to do?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Why is it so hard?

I have to admit that the more I grapple with the Scriptures, the more challenging they seem to become. Or maybe it is just a huge realization that 'living out' the Word is a lot tougher than simply memorizing it. I don't understand why some critics accuse Christianity of being a crutch to lean on - it is rather a difficult and demanding path to walk on. 

Take these words from Romans 12:19-21 as an example: 

Never seek revenge, my friends; instead, leave that to God’s anger; for in the Tanakh it is written,

“Adonai says, ‘Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay.’”

On the contrary,

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For by doing this, you will heap
fiery coals [of shame] on his head.” (Proverbs 25)

Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.  (Complete Jewish Bible)

Wow, who thinks of feeding their enemy or giving them something to drink? We are usually trying to get as far away from them as possible. 

Thought: What do you find hard about following the way of Christ? 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Dragons and fairy tales

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” ― G.K. Chesterton

There is something intriguing about this quote - perhaps it is because most children love fairy-tales or that we grow up wanting to believe in heroes and 'knights in shining armour.' 

My immediate thought was how this quote speaks into our experience of Faith. We don't need to be reminded that evil exists (these are the dragons), but rather that Christ has overcome all of our dragons. The stories of faith, found the Bible, remind us that Christ is victorious and these should inspire us to place our trust in the One who defeats all evil.

Jeremiah 1:19 - They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

John 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

The Great Enemy

The greatest enemy we will ever face, according to Charles Spurgeon, was this:

"The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation."

In response to self-righteousness, I guess we need to turn to the other extreme, which is HUMILITY and dependence on our Lord. Spurgeon added his thoughts on humility:

Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self.

It is always best to keep ourselves grounded in the love and favour of God.  This is never an attempt to keep us downtrodden, but rather aware of our humble beginnings and the incredible miracles of rising to our fullest potential.

Living in Grace
D3LM3