Matthew 5:43-45

“[Love for Enemies] "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”- Matthew 5:43-45

How hard is it to pray for the people who you don't like or those who have hurt you? It can be really hard! Everyone has probably read the part about loving your neighbor, it is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. I had to read this verse a few times because I tend to want to zone out as soon as I read that part. I almost expect it to be a repeat of that same classic rule, but it really isn't. This verse tells us that while we are called to love our neighbors, we are also called to love our enemies and pray for those who turn against us. I think that in a perfect world Christianity would really be like this. Just think: there would have been no religious wars because we would all be loving our enemies. If you love someone, you don't just go to war against them.

This verse really makes me think. It is also challenging to me. A lot of times I just want to take the easy way out, and that really isn't possible here. It's kind of impossible to partially love your enemy. It's all or nothing. This is one of the harder aspects of Christianity in my opinion. Loving people who dislike you and maybe even persecute you is incredibly hard, and it is a test of devotion to our cause as Christians.