True Christianity

“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 children 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. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48 NIV

It’s easy, isn’t it, loving those who love you. Those who are kind. Those who don’t wrong you…

What’s not so easy is those who mistreat you. Those who abuse you. Those who talk about you. Those who lie on you, steal from you, abandon you, reject you, and the list goes on and on…

I remember some years ago when I realized that I found it easier to forgive strangers than I did people whom I knew intimately. I actually found that odd. Then again I didn’t. See, I didn’t have anything invested in the stranger who bumped into me, stepped on my toes. It was easy to forgive their offenses against me.

There was nothing invested in them.

It’s more difficult to forgive someone in whom I invested my time and effort and placed expectations in…

Funny how that works, isn’t it?

As I work on not only learning to love, but truly love others with a godly love, I realize the importance of forgiveness.

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