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| 1. Love
Thine Enemies
(December 2006) 2. Prophecy and Free Will (March 2007) 3. The Sin of Interest (March 2007) 4. Law and Justice (April 2007) 5. Cooperation and the Silent Wars (May 2007) 6. Forgiveness (June/July 2007) 1. Love Thine Enemies (December 2006) Defining Love Nowadays the word ‘love’ is used prolifically in a wide variety of situations having a broad range of meanings. At one end of the spectrum it can mean lust and as a verb denote sexual relations as in ‘make love.’ while at the other end in can denote deep sacrificial commitment. The following are some of the forms of love as listed in the online dictionary ‘Wikipedia’, under the heading ‘Types of Love’: Courtly love - a late medieval conventionalised code prescribing certain conduct for ladies and their lovers. Cupboard love – a false or exaggerated affection shown in return for some kind of material gain. Erotic love – (eros) – sexual attraction or desire towards a person. Familial love – affection brokered towards kinship connections, intertwined with concepts of attachment and bonding Free love – sexual relations according to choice and unrestricted by marriage Philia – used in the New Testament, philia is a sentimental or conditional love, i.e. “I love you because…” Platonic love – a close relationship in which sexual is non-existent or has been suppressed or sublimated Puppy love – romantic affection that is not “mature” or not “true.” Religious love – devotion to ones deity or theology Romantic love – affection characterised by a mix of emotion and sexual desire Lust love – affection characterised by lust. i.e. The desire to satisfy or gratify oneself. Sacrificial love – the act of sacrificing one’s life, or something of great importance solely on the basis of love. Agape – Christian Love With so many definitions and nuances depending on the subject matter we may ask what Jesus was implying when he quoted the word in what he stated were the two greatest of God’s commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Gospel of Matthew 22:37-41) In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus further said: “You have heard that it was said, “love your neighbour and hate your enemy,’ but I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” At first thought this commandment does not appear to make sense. How can one love one’s enemies? If we loved them then surely they would no longer be our enemies! If we certainly consider them as our enemies can we at the same time love them? Jesus did not tell us to cease treating them as enemies or to make friends with them but he stated we are to ‘love’ them. When I posed this apparent dilemma to a friend some time ago my friend suggested that the love Jesus was referring to meant respect. This interpretation makes a lot of sense and offers a clearer understanding of how we are to treat those we class as our enemies. Respect Referring again to the Wikipedia the word respect is defined as: “… an attitude of acknowledging the feelings and interests of another party in a relationship, and of treating as consequential for the self the helping or harming of the other…..respect does not necessarily imply deference, but a respectful attitude rules out unconsidered selfish behaviour. The concept of respect predates, and does not rely on, the existence of the concept of rights.” So in dealing with our enemies we may have hostile feelings towards them, for whatever reason, but we must always respect them. That is we must remember that in the eyes of God they are our equals, the same as our brothers and sisters for “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” As Cayce stated: “for God is not a respecter of persons as is man.” 2427-1 “…there is no respecter of persons in the eyes of Him who gives to all life, love, hope, truth, liberty, and understanding. For He is Lord of all.” 1286-1 Because we have classed some people as our enemies that fact in itself does not give us the any special rights nor does it give any justification for our actions. Note in the definition of ‘respect’ the phrase ‘as treating as consequential for the self the helping or harming of the other.’ Thus, because God is ‘no respecter of persons’ we will be held to the same accountability for any harm we inflict on our enemies as if those persons were our friends or family. Applying the definition ‘respect’ to love when as it was used by Jesus gives us a clearer understanding of what he meant and a guideline on how we are to behave when dealing with our fellow men. Not only are we to love (respect) our family and friends but we are also to love (respect) those that are not friendly to us, those who we feel have caused us injury or hurt. We are to put our trust in God with sure hope that our kindlier attitude towards our enemies will help to sooth our negative relationships and where there are injustices we will leave the punishment to God for “Remember, vengeance is the Father's - not thine.” 1120-3 B.D.A. 1. Love Thine Enemies (December 2006) 2. Prophecy and Free Will (March 2007) 3. The Sin of Interest (March 2007) 4. Law and Justice (April 2007) 5. Cooperation and the Silent Wars (May 2007) 6. Forgiveness (June/July 2007) |
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