Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:44)
Have you ever watched a movie about a superhero and wondered how they lived through all those adventures? They get shot at, blown up, fall from twenty stories, and still finish without a scratch. But you don’t have to be Superman to love your enemies. It really is possible for an ordinary human being to do it.
So how can we do it? With a dose of reality and a lot of divine grace.
Unlike superheroes, we don’t heal so easily. That’s the dose of reality. We may even want to forgive someone, but their actions have left scars on our hearts, and those scars don’t go away by themselves. We may have been devastated by a heartbreaking separation, the loss of a job, or a loved one’s untimely death. Perhaps we were abused, rejected, or betrayed by someone we trusted. To one degree or another, we all carry these kinds of wounds.
We may have resigned ourselves to carrying these wounds around, and we may even think they are just part of life. But the truth is, these scars can block our ability to love as Jesus asks us to. And here is where the divine grace comes in. If something is holding us back, Jesus wants to set us free from it, whether it happened last week or twenty years ago.
How can you begin to experience Jesus’ healing power in these painful areas of your life? Try sitting quietly in prayer, imagining him sitting next to you. Tell him about what may be hurting you. Be open and honest, and tell him why you feel the way you do. Look into his eyes, and see the love and compassion there. Then, listen in your heart. You may sense Jesus comforting you or guiding you or taking away the pain from the past. Don’t worry if you think it’s just your imagination. That’s how God works sometimes. He will use anything to restore you and make you whole!
“Lord, I bring my wounds to you, knowing that by your wounds you have set me free. I want to be an instrument of your peace, so help me first to pardon those who have hurt me.”Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Psalm 119:1-2,4-5,7-8
