Love Your Enemy

Love your enemy’ is easy for some people. There are those who cannot live without an enemy. They learn to feed off negativity. They can make others appear to be horrendous human beings who lack basic goodness. This creation is often a figment of their imagination, but it is necessary to sustain their own warped sense of self-worth and their drive. They love the presence of an enemy because, without one, they’d have to consider their own heart and soul, and this is too difficult for them. An enemy provides justification for a worldview that distracts from personal well-being.
Jesus suffered under such people. He was made to be an enemy of the people to suit those in power. May we be protected from such people and the damage they do. The heart is too tender a space to be wasted on such negativity.
‘Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.’ (Luke 23:34)

Alan Hilliard, Dipping into Lent