Loving enemies is Christian

TO be able to love our enemies even as we try our best to resolve with justice and charity our differences, conflicts and other issues is clearly a sign of being Christ-like. It could be the proof that one’s Christianity is real and genuine, and not fake.

Christ said this in no unclear terms. “Love your enemies,” he said, “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…” (Mt 5,44-45)

We have to be ready to develop and assume this attitude, always asking first of all for the grace of God and trying to have the very mind and heart of Christ. We also need to discipline our reactions and to train our emotions to conform to this basic Christian standard.

Yes, this ideal can only be possible and doable with God’s grace and the constant effort to assume the very mind and heart of Christ. We should never take this requirement for granted.

In the first place, we have to remember that our true identity is when we become another Christ knowingly and willingly. This presumes a constant effort on our part, since this cannot be considered as an automatic thing to happen in our life. This is not falling into some kind of pious presumption. This is what we are supposed to be. And God, for his part, is all ready to give us all that we need to attain this goal.

We should give full attention to this fundamental need of ours, seeing to it that in our prayers we explicitly ask for this grace. Let’s hope that we come out of our prayer deeply conscious of who we are at the very core of our being and of how we are supposed to behave, especially in the face of difficulties and when dealing with enemies, or those not quite friendly with us.

This will require tremendous effort, of course, but once done, we will surely feel the way Christ felt even in his most difficult moment when he had to suffer his passion and death on the cross. That’s when we can echo St. Paul’s words: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20)

There will be a kind of peace and joy that the world can never give. There will be a sense of confidence and courage in spite of the tremendous suffering involved. Somehow, even if we are still immersed in our material or physical condition, we can manage to be spiritual and supernatural in our bearing.

We have to undertake the appropriate plan or program, or some exercises and activities that will foster this kind of attitude and outlook. Definitely, we need to be patient and hopeful, and kind of sport about the usual drama in life where there will always be things beyond our control. We have to learn to take certain things in stride. If need be, we should just roll with the punches.

Everyday, we have to make another step of progress in the art of loving our enemies. It could be in the area of patience, or in the skill of finding the saving grace of a person who otherwise is full of defects, or the virtue of hope and optimism. Opportunities to grow in these virtues will always be at hand. We need to seize every chance we have to grow in them.

We have to convince ourselves that all the effort needed for this would be all worthwhile. It will surely unleash the power of God’s grace and actualize the hidden potentials in our life.