"If you can love your enemy, then you already have the victory."
-from "The Help"
" 'But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.' "
-Matthew 5:44, NKJV
"Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' "
-Luke 23:34, NKJV
Yesterday, God gave me an opportunity to put these principles into practice.
I was driving home from the library. All of a sudden the car in the lane next to me darted in front of me (without signaling!), swerved around all the cars that were turning, and sped off. God must've given my reflexes an extra boost, because there was no way I would've been able to stop in time on my own.
As I kept driving, I began to get very angry. I was in a serious accident in 2010, and that was with all parties driving responsibly. So I have no patience for reckless driving. I was driving along, and then I heard Him speak.
I want you to bless that man.
I was quick to respond. "Um, yeah, not happening. I don't make a point of blessing people who nearly kill me."
I want you to bless that man.
"Why do I have to make the sacrifice if I didn't do anything wrong?"
If My justice were to come down this instant, would you survive the fire?
As I began to rattle off the standard prayer of blessing, I finally got it. If we want to be able to truly forgive, and love others with the love of Christ, we need to first receive His forgiveness. That cannot happen until we repent for our own sins and shortcomings.
