As usual, Father Stephen from Glory to God for All Things, says it much better than I could.
Why did Jesus tell us to love our enemies? Because that is who God is.
God is not the divine boss-from-hell. He does not exercise a power trip over His creation from his lofty place in the sky. Jesus did not come to burden us with the minutia of impossible-to-follow commandments--Love is the commandment that covers all others. Jesus came to show us God and to lead us to God. That is the sole purpose of this life.
The world had gone so far astray from God that He sent His son, God Himself as the Church teaches, to show us what Love is. Love is not taking revenge. Love is dying to one's self for others. Love is mourning the sins of one's enemies rather than plotting revenge.
The kind of God who asks us to love our enemies is the God who, in His infinite mercy, loves us despite our own sin (literally "missing the mark"). He constantly calls us back, searching for us in the garden when we have hidden ourselves in shame.
Without love, the world makes no sense. Without love, nothing works. Love is all.
4 comments:
exactly. Christ meant what He said when He said, "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you". we pray for those who have gone astray from God because it is what He wants us to do. If Jesus can ask God to forgive those who murdered Him, then why can't we pray for those people who hurt us? is it not a command to do so? as i usually say, from the Divine Mercy, "The greater the sinner, the more right he has to God's mercy".
That's a very apt and beautiful quote from Divine Mercy. It is very illustrative of the shocking nature of God's love.
I was in a real hurry when I first read this post. As I quickly glanced I read, "Why did Jesus tell us to love our enemies?" And I replied, "Because He does," meaning because He loves our enemies. I thought, "it's that simple." Our enemies are God's creations just as much as we are. Their actions may not be "of God," but their being is.
That's absolutely right. What kind of God would tell us to love our enemies? A God who loves them Himself.
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