Love your neighbors... and your enemies.

Indeed, This is one of the most profound teachings of Jesus, He commanded us to love our enemies, But regarding this verse, I have a Simple Question: Is there any difference between our our enemies and His enemies? Because i notice that Jesus in Luke 19:27 also said:

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

I don't know if there is Difference between our enemies and His enemies, Or do you Think This Verse interlined into the Pure Teachings of Jesus or What?

What is Your thoughts?

When Jesus gave the instructions to love your neighbor, He gave the parable of the good Samaritan. So loving them is enough by helping them in times of trouble. God loves all humankind because they are His creation, and He works hard to give them every little bit of chance of repentance (even 5 minutes before your death, would be enough to save them). What He hates are their sin, their conducts, their attitude and most all their hypocrisy (you can read of all this in the old testament, and letters from Paul). But yes, you have to defend your country if it is the right thing to do. Didn't He commanded Israel to war all their enemies when the were journeying through to Canaan, and many other times during the age of Judges and Kings? But the point is that the instructions to war were given directly by God, through the prophets. At that time the leaders do have intimate relationship with Him and fears Him? What about our leaders nowadays? Do they listen to God or act by their ego? Herein lies the answer whether it was alright to war and kill or not.

This Biblical verse is fascinating. To my mind, only one man has done that. He is our Lord Jesus! Only he can allow his left cheek to be struck after his right cheek. Only he can forgive and forget. Only he can love his enemies,saying for they do not know what they are doing. So, he forgave them. Can we ever be close to to actions of the Lord. we may want to be. But it takes a stoic person to withstand all those 'sins' of the neigbours to be able to forgive them. Almost all people cannot do that. It is really in the image of our Lord if we can succeed!

I try not to hate anyone, I have been pretty upset over those who I have felt done specific wrong to me, that's where I have had a hard time. As far as hating someone because of politics, ethnicity or because the government says so, I think I have come to realize that our politicians are probably our own worst enemies at times. Anyone can say they are Christian but walking the walk is different than talking it, wolves have always been among the flock.

Hi murderistic, Thank you for a very interesting discussion and you make an excellent point. I too think a lot about that quote and indeed all of Jesus's teachings in the sermon on the mount. I feel that there are no better teachings to be found anywhere. I often think that we pay so little attention to these words. Perhaps, all churches should make it a project that every service for the next year be nothing but the reading of the sermon on the mount, and that they encourage all their followers to read and meditate on it every day. I'm certain that if we truly followed the teachings of Jesus, there would be not only no war, but also no one dying from hunger and no one homeless. Blessings.

"I've learned to understand conflict from the "enemies" point of view, and have even come to realize that many of our allies are no better than our enemies.But I've come to realize that I am seriously struggling with actually loving my neighbors in the US. So I find it kind of funny that although I have no problem loving my enemies, it has become so hard to love my neighbors!" If you can love your enemies, who you say, are no better than your allies, you should apply the same method you used to understand your enemies, to your allies.

I take a Bible study class taught by a professor from The School of Divinity at the University of the South at Swanee. She has a doctorate in Old Testament Hebrew, speaks and reads it. She says love doesn't mean love as we know it, but rather, "to be loyal." I don't have a problem with that for my neighbors, but I have a hard time getting my mind around it for my enemies. The example of the Samaritan helping someone in need, who just happened to be his enemy, and Jesus teaching in Matthew 5: 41, "And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles," is a help in appreciating the loyal concept. By going the extra mile, not because you have to, but because you choose to, shows you in a different light. It is an act of kindness towards you enemy, and gives you the opportunity to share your faith with him.

As an individual, I have no problem helping neighbor or enemy alike. I don't really know of anyone I consider an enemy. As far as our nation goes, we have every right to defend ourselves from our enemies, but we have also been very good at restoring them afterwards. We are also very good at sending aid to anyone after a disaster. I think we, as a nation, have been loyal to neighbor and enemy alike.

To finish, I am a praying person and will pray that you receive wisdom and understand from God.

This is a great discussion. I think loving your neighbors can translate into loving your fellow human being, be they your friends or enemies. It is easy to say, but hard to do. A person must have a great deal of mental purity to follow this teaching correctly, but if done I think its rewards can be had now in this very life. Universal love is what Jesus taught and what we need nowadays. We are all sharing the same planet, so we are all neighbors. It is our personal desires, which makes us enemies sometimes. That is why you see monks of all different religious backgrounds work on controlling and abandoning their personal desires. Let me just post this prayer of ST. Francis, which can articulate what I am trying to say, better than I can.

Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned
And it is in dying, that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

and look what happen to him.

Since GOD is infinite glory, we should have no prooblems trusting HIM to punish wrong doers, including me, myself, or the ones we do not fell comfortable about. Thus the best strategy here is to love everone, but secure our own safety from harms from anywhere, including thy neighbor, friends, co-worker, etc. and leave the punishment of wrong doers to GOD. He probably can do a much better job in punishing them than we do!

PCT
http://ForThePeople1.BlogSpot.com/

it is very hard for most people to love their neighbours these days and in most cases people do not take interest in the affairs of their neighbours again and all they do is establish a competition which they often believe they can be above all others, if we can't love our neighbours, how can we love our enemies