Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” -John 11:40
Faith in God is not just believing in him, it’s trusting that God’s ways are better than my ways. So God will ask us and command us to do things we don’t want to do, but part of living by faith is trusting that his way is the best way to be. Loving your enemies takes a lot of faith, it’s trusting that it’s the best thing for me, for God, and for my enemy. It’s the best thing, even though it’s a terrible, horrible, hard thing to do. Who wants to love their enemy? But it’s amazing and it requires faith. Too often we take our own vices, our resentment, and our anger and we project it on God. Voltaire said this famous criticism, “In the beginning, God created man in his own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since.” We try and project all of our stuff onto God but it’s not God — God is love. Jesus shows us what God is like. Jesus does not go around making people sick; he goes around healing people. Jesus does not go around telling people they’re stupid; he goes around teaching people. Jesus is a friend of sinners. Thank you, Jesus. I need a friend like that. So do you.
PRAYER: God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for a perfect example to show how much you love us.
REFLECTION: Do have experience in loving your enemies?