I can think back over my life and make a list of 3 or 4 people that I never would like to see again. I am at the point in my life where I no longer wish for them to burst into flames. I just would not like to be reminded of the situations that caused these feelings. I forgave them years ago and I wish them well. However, do I love them? Wait a minute, love them, do I have to? Forgiving was fairly easy over time. Forgetting is more difficult. Loving them would take more grace than I alone have. Most of these people live 400 or more miles away from me, so I don’t have to deal with them on a regular basis. What about people that we deal with daily? Maybe there is someone at work that we just don’t see eye to eye with. We all have a neighbor that we could live without. There is a grumpy, rude, unpleasant individual that works at store where I buy lunch. I don’t really have anything to forgive these types for but, do I love these people?
In Matthew 5:43-44 Jesus says to love them and pray for them! Ok, now I have to love them and pray for them? Not just the people we don’t want to be around, but our enemies also. Just for the record Jesus doesn’t mean that we pray for their brakes to fail or anything like that. But wait….there is more. Proverbs 25: 21-22 says that I have to feed and give my enemies water. Now I have to feed him and give them water also? We not only have to do this but we have to do this with a pure heart. We have to want to do it. Wait for it….there is more! Leviticus 19:18 says some stuff about not seeking revenge or holding a grudge. OK, so we have to forgive them, love them, pray for them, feed them, give them water and do this without holding a grudge???? And we have to do this because we want to not because we have to????
No problem (sarcasm)! I said earlier that loving them would take more grace than I had alone. I need to pray for myself also. Pray that my own pride, resentment, selfish issues be moved out of the way or better yet taken away. I will never do this perfectly. I’m so thankful that God forgives me, loves me, talks with me, feeds me, gives me water, doesn’t seek revenge, doesn’t hold a grudge and does it all because he wants to!
John 15:12
rustyreeder 
Good reading Rusty
Thanks Chuck!
This very week I was on Facebook looking at post for vets. A guy had gotten the Congressional Metal of Honor. There was a place to comment so I thought I would. But someone had beat me to it. There was a negative post there from a guy in Indonesia. Seems that he was un-happy with America. And said something to the effect that they would nuke us soon. So I asked him why he felt that way. After all we are the people that when you are in need we come, bring food and clean water and medical treatment. Well, he responded back right away . Maybe what he said shouldn’t be repeated here so I will just say it was not positive. I told him that I think he should thank us and be grateful since when they were in trouble America came and help them. After that the State Department cut me off.
But the fact is even if they are our enemy we are the feed them and give them water. This is harder than it looks. But we will leave the outcome to Jesus. Amen