Angry Love?

'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your Father in heaven'

Matthew 5:44-45

We, as Christians have all been called to share the love of Jesus. To love your neighbour, to love them as yourself and to love your enemies.
To love someone like yourself is a very hard concept. I understand that we should love everyone, even those who do wrong against us, but to love someone as you love yourself? That can be a very hard thing to do when you don't love yourself.
I've had my fair share of not liking the person I am and I know many people who do not love themselves much, so how can God ask something so hard of us. If we are to love others as ourselves first we must learn to love ourselves and then we can love others.

I've often thought about what kind of love God has called us to. Relational love, being friends with everyone? Is saying 'God loves you' enough? How should we show it? walking up to everyone and hugging them? Unless you feel the urge to do that when you come across a stranger in the street, then I don't believe that is the love that we are called to share. Its not the kind of love that freaks people out, its the Jesus love- hard-hitting, caring. Jesus just didn't go around saying 'God loves you!', he showed them that God loves them. He did more than hug a stranger, He did more then say He cared. If all Jesus did was to go around saying that, then the Church would not be here today!

Not only does God call us to love ourselves and to love our neighbours, but he also calls us to love our enemies. The people who hurt us, the oppressors, the rich and powerful who use it wrongly etc... Its so easy to watch the news and feel bitterness and hatred towards someone who has misused their power, someone who has the power to help that nation and yet ignores the people dieing, who ignores the sufferers cry for help. Yet God still calls us to love that person.
That doesn't stop you from feeling a 'Righteous Anger' towards that situation, towards the injustice in the world. We should be angry, we should stand up for the oppressed. Loving our enemy is hard, but its the ability to be able to both stand up for justice and to reach out to the oppressors with love and grace. Not only is this obeying God's command but it also disarms your enemy. That person isn't expecting love, mercy or grace from you, but hatred. It shows their attitude for what it is, compared to a loving one.

'Its a profound, mysterious truth, Jesus' concept of love overcoming hate.

I may not see it in my life time. But I know it's true.Because on that bed,

full of bruises and stitches, God made it true in me. I got a transfusion

of hope. I couldn't give up.'

John Perkins, a black minister in the US civil rights movement. He said these words after he had been beaten by police and he barely survived.

This the love we are all called to give. You can have the choice, you can either hate or you can love. Its your choice and if you choose to love, you will be filled by the Spirit and be able to love like Jesus, with both love and righteous anger!

'Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.' Romans 12:21