A Thought For The Week Of April 8

"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you ..." (Matthew 5:44) Here's where living by the Gospel gets tough. When we think about the love that Jesus wants us to show for those around us, we generally choose the far less challenging words "love your neighbours," don't we. That we can handle, although even that isn't necessarily easy. I remember once having neighbours whose teenage son insisted on banging on drums at all hours of the day or night - and they wouldn't stop him. Loving them would have been tough. At the time, I wasn't a Christian, so I can let myself off the hook for some of my thoughts! But if one is going to be a follower of Jesus Christ then we can't just pick and choose who we'll love, or who we'll pray for. We can't just love and pray for those we like or for those we agree with or for those who have done something nice for us. We have to do the same even for everyone. We have to love those we find unlovable. We have to pray (nice things!) for those who seek to do us harm. How can we do that? Well, let's remember that love for Jesus wasn't an emotion - it was an action. It was something you did, whether you felt it or not. Prayer is similar. You do it. You call blessings upon those who wouldn't even thinking of doing the same for you. Love or prayer or both - as a Christian you just do it! And that's where it gets hard. No one ever said being a Christian was easy. If we actually try to do it we'll find the challenges are great. But loving and praying for those who seem undeserving is the way of Christ! Have a great week!