“BUT I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”.
It could be one of the more baffling and difficult lessons Jesus wants us to accept, learn and do. To love your enemies goes against all of human nature. You want me to love those who hate me? You want me to pray for those who malign me, destroy my character with lies and rumors? You want me to turn the other cheek when I have been slapped with resounding intensity? That would be so dumb we would say. We must fight back, give them what they deserve and teach them all a lesson. All these sound familiar, all these we have experienced. And that I guess is where the difficulty and the challenge lie. To absolutely do the radical, the unexpected. To break the mold, to jar the senses. To be what we ought to be.
In reality to love your enemies does not mean running towards them and embracing them that is not love. It is deception. Love your enemies do not mean restoring your relationships to what it was because it will never be what it was. Love your enemies does not mean going out of your way and extending your hand. To love your enemies is not doing the motions. Motion is not necessarily action.
To love your enemies is what Mathew 5:44 is saying. Pray for those who persecute you. Nowhere does it say you go out of your way and treat them like long lost friends. That is not love. It is just hypocrisy.
Pray for those who mock you. Is that so difficult? Well it is but it is not impossible. Actually praying for those who have betrayed you or hurt you can be a liberating thing. And it will show what kind of person you are. So many people are stuck and paralyzed because of betrayal and pain. How many of us still carry the hatred of ten years ago? How many of us will never forget? How many of us still tremble in anger?
To love your enemies is to wish them well. Is that so difficult? It is, but not impossible. The key is to be sincere about it otherwise it will be just foolishness. Just wish them well, you do not have to say it. They do not even have to be present. What is essential is that you mean it. In case you see them, just give them the thought. It works.
It is all about spirit and attitude. Of course to get to that point takes effort and patience. No one said it would be easy. That is why it is a lesson to be learned. And we cannot do it on our own. We need the right spirit and the divine attitude. We need God. But it can happen. And it will if you open your mind, heart and soul to it.
To love is to be free.