Loving My Enemies – Who is my Enemy?

Greetings Dear Reader,

There is an easy answer to this.  From that easy answer flows a complexity that would take a lifetime to unpack.  I will begin with the simple and move to the complex but this post will not last a lifetime.  So who is my enemy? 

The simple answer is that anyone who is the enemy of God is my enemy.   Even in that simple statement I find an untenable position.  There are those who act as enemies of God whom I love dearly.   I refuse to see them as an enemy.   In fact a primary meaning of the word enemy is anyone who is at opposition with God.

Some people that I love do not love God.   They are not my enemies.   From time to time some of them even mock God.   This hurts me.  Most of them will not tolerate the mocking of things they value.  That, however, is not my focus here.   Again I refuse to see these individuals as enemies.  So I am still left with the question of who is my enemy.

There are those who declare that they are my enemy simple because I follow Christ.  I suppose if anyone intentionally declares that he or she is my enemy he or she is.  This narrows the field and increases my number of enemies greatly.  There are those who hate God enough that they are enemies of anyone who believes.  There are those who will mock me for my beliefs no matter what they believe.  I suppose that these individuals are my enemies. 

One of the aspects of this is that I must not make enemies.  I must not declare that someone else is my enemy.   I think that the safest way to proceed in this course of thinking is to surmise that anyone is my enemy who declares that they are my enemy.  Assigning this status on my own requires that I reject the grace, kindness, mercy, and forgiveness that is required of me as a Christ follower.

I have enemies.  They are those who declare themselves to be such.  I am required to love them.  If my heart is right then requirement to love will be seen as a privilege.  This is the purpose of this series of thoughts.   I must get about the business of assuring that I know how to love them properly.  As my beloved Son has said it is about developing barrier crushing love.  

How about you dear reader?  Am I your enemy?  Do you picture me when you mock Jesus and his followers?  Are you someone who also struggles with following Christ by loving those who hate you?  I promise to love you no matter where you are in this.  I promise to love you no matter what you believe.  I promise to love you no matter what you do to me.  Loving you Dear Reader is my obligation and my privilege.   

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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