CP W5 D1 Sermon on the Mount - Love Your Enemies (Matt 5:43-48)

Today we start exploring the "Sermon on the Mount" which contains some of my favorite wisdom from Jesus. For extra credit, read Matt 5:1-42 as well.

We are asked to draw our "Mountains of Love" and think about how we love those people at the various levels. The foothills represent loving the people who love us, the middle slopes represent loving those who don't love (or know) us, and the highest peaks represent loving our enemies or those who persecute us. The higher we are on the mountain, the harder it is to love those people. However, for me, sometimes I find myself "upside down". Let me explain.

Starting at the top of the mountain, the snow-capped peaks of loving your enemies. I have people who I sometimes consider enemies such as adversaries or competitors at work, but when I think about it, I realize that they truly don't mean me harm. Yes, I could think about terrorists who do want to harm me simply because of who I am, but I think they are truly few in number and rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Certainly, the people of Iraq where we are currently "at war" don't mean me any harm. So I'm not sure I have "Enemies" in the true sense of the word. At any rate, in theory, I accept the need to pray for them, and we do regularly - in church and in my private meditation.

I make a good attempt at the slopes of loving those who don't know me... the poor, the sick, and the hungry. In theory this is hard to do, but I find that it's really an issue of inertia. Once you get started, it gets easier - just like yesterday's CROP walk. (It was a cold and rainy day... I really didn't want to go, but once there and walking, I had a really pleasant time chatting with the 5 girls from J2A that came along. It's funny how having "companions for the journey" really makes a difference.) I know I could do more in this area, and I imagine that regardless of how much I do, I can never do "enough". But overall, I feel that I'm doing OK in this regard.

As I said, my problem is in the foothills of loving those who love me. Yes, I love Kristen and John, my extended family and friends like those of you in J2A. But there's this dark side of me that sometimes has trouble accepting love from these people. (Maybe it's actually believing that they can love me.)

And so I'm left with the realization that maybe my climb up this mountain really starts in the valley - supposedly the easiest part - of loving myself, and accepting God's love for me. That may indeed be the first step in climbing my mountain.