Hate the sin love the sinner. Love our enemies. Turn the other cheek. Ouch, ouch ouch…how many times? Jesus said this, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:43-45). The difficult part of these is that all are difficult. We cannot imagine why we have to love those who hate us. God loves us as sinners but hates our sin. Why should we do anything less?
Those are hard maxims especially in the face of terrible tragedies such as 9-11. Being a Christian is hard work. It requires that we labor in God’s vineyard, His Creation for the purpose of bringing others to salvation and eternal life – even those who hate us. God didn’t give up on Saul even as he stood by while Stephen was stoned to death. Why should we do anything less? He didn’t give up on the disciples who ‘ran’ from the cross. Why should we do anything less?
Prayer: Loving God, we thank you for this day and for loving us. Thank you for providing a way back to you through your Son Jesus Christ, whose very life was given for our sins. Forgive those Father who seek our destruction. Turn their hearts to you. Forgive when we fail to love you and love our neighbor. Help us reach others to offer eternal life through your Son Jesus Christ who is our Redeemer. AMEN!
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