Highfields Church of Christ

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Message From the Pastor
    • Pastor
    • Vision and Values
    • Ministries
    • How To Find Us
  • All Sermons
  • Events @ Highfields CofC
  • Church & Family
  • Phone: 0408 304 776
You are here: Home / Inspirations / Love Your Enemies

Love Your Enemies

November 11, 2020

The following is a meditation writing from Richard Rohr from November 9th ,2020 from the Center for Action and Contemplation:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I say unto you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. —Matthew 5:43–45

In the United States few public figures have spoken more plainly and powerfully about Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies than the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This was not an abstract theological question for Dr. King. He wrestled practically and at great cost with how to love his enemies, both through prayer and through nonviolent direct action. This passage is an excerpt from King’s sermon “Loving Your Enemies.”

When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. . . .

Probably no admonition of Jesus has been more difficult to follow than the command to “love your enemies.” Some people have sincerely felt that its actual practice is not possible. It is easy, they say, to love those who love you, but how can one love those who openly and insidiously seek to defeat you? . . .

This command of Jesus challenges us with new urgency. Upheaval after upheaval has reminded us that modern humanity is traveling along a road called hate, in a journey that will bring us to destruction. . . . Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, the command to love one’s enemy is an absolute necessity for our survival. Love even for enemies is the key to the solution of the problems of our world. Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.

I am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one’s enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talk glibly about the easiness of the moral life. He realized that every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God. So when Jesus said “Love your enemy,” he was not unmindful of its stringent qualities. Yet he meant every word of it. Our responsibility as Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to live it out in our daily lives. . . .

When Jesus bids us to love our enemies, he is speaking of neither eros [romantic love] nor philia [reciprocal love of friends]; he is speaking of agape, understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all people. Only by following this way and responding with this type of love are we able to be children of our Father who is in Heaven.

Richard again: This is a timely reminder to Christians around the world. We must ask ourselves “What would it mean to seek to embody love as ‘creative, redemptive goodwill’ on behalf of all living things?”

· Inspirations, Theological

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Phone
  • YouTube

Our Instagram

  • Want to stay up to date with Church events at Highfields CofC this year? Click the link below to see
    Want to stay up to date with Church events at Highfields CofC this year? Click the link below to see
  • Youth is on tonight y
    Youth is on tonight y'all from 7pm to 8:30pm at St Anne's Church (26 Highfields Rd)
  • Don
    Don't forget about the Gribble Farewell Service where we are thanking Pastor Chris Gribble for all the work he did
  • We are going through Jonah this month as a church, and we will unpack this beautiful book in our blog
    We are going through Jonah this month as a church, and we will unpack this beautiful book in our blog
  • Click the link below to check out this Midweek Devotional. https://youtu.be/zZjh9TUAm5M
    Click the link below to check out this Midweek Devotional. https://youtu.be/zZjh9TUAm5M
  • Check out our Midweek Devotional where we look at Jonah 3 by clicking the link below https://youtu.be/uwVv6gwqEOU
    Check out our Midweek Devotional where we look at Jonah 3 by clicking the link below https://youtu.be/uwVv6gwqEOU
  • Missed our Service on Sunday where we honor Pastor Chris Gribble and his amazing family? Click the link below to
    Missed our Service on Sunday where we honor Pastor Chris Gribble and his amazing family? Click the link below to
  • Click the link below to check out the message this past Sunday from Darren Painter from Prison Fellowship Australia. https://youtu.be/O-ZAd6W_UXI
    Click the link below to check out the message this past Sunday from Darren Painter from Prison Fellowship Australia. https://youtu.be/O-ZAd6W_UXI
  • Exciting times ahead!
    Exciting times ahead!
  • Missed our message on Sunday from @pastor_mattzilla?Click the link below to check it out. https://youtu.be/I6C7oiKk8_0
    Missed our message on Sunday from  @pastor_mattzilla ?Click the link below to check it out. https://youtu.be/I6C7oiKk8_0
  • Check out our Midweek Devotional by clicking the link below. https://youtu.be/6T_WRk-uSqM
    Check out our Midweek Devotional by clicking the link below. https://youtu.be/6T_WRk-uSqM
  • Don
    Don't forget to check out our Midweek Devotional by clicking the link below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmsZ6w-NGx8
  • We should ask ourselves what does it look like to be more like Christ? That is what our world needs.
    We should ask ourselves what does it look like to be more like Christ? That is what our world needs.
  • Check out our recent blog post on our website by clicking the link below. http://www.highfieldschurch.org/sin-is-personal/
    Check out our recent blog post on our website by clicking the link below. http://www.highfieldschurch.org/sin-is-personal/
  • Our signs are up at the entrance...We are getting closer y
    Our signs are up at the entrance...We are getting closer y'all ☺️
  • Who is ready to kick off our new series this Sunday? 9:30am at Geham SS followed by Morning Tea
    Who is ready to kick off our new series this Sunday? 9:30am at Geham SS followed by Morning Tea
  • Youth is back on tonight y
    Youth is back on tonight y'all!! 7 to 8:30pm at St Anne's Hall (26 Highfields Rd)
  • Was an amazing service celebrating the ministry of Pastor Chris Gribble and family at Highfields CofC. We even found a
    Was an amazing service celebrating the ministry of Pastor Chris Gribble and family at Highfields CofC. We even found a
  • Check out our latest blog post on our website. You can find it by clicking the link below or just
    Check out our latest blog post on our website. You can find it by clicking the link below or just

Copyright © 2021 · Simply Pro by Bloom Blog Shop.