Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

"If someone says: "I love God and hates his
brother, he is a liar: For the one who does not
love his brother whom he has seen cannot love
God whom he has not seen. 21 And this
commandment we have from Him, that the one
who loves God should love his brother."
(1 John 4:20, 21)

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend
expecting nothing in return, and your reward
will be great, and you will be sons of the Most
High: for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and
evil men. (Luke 6: 35)

Reflection:

What's it like to really hate, I'm not talking dislike,
I'm talking "hate". To actually know somebody
and really hate them. To know someone and feel
your life would be better if they didn't exist.
You know this is not just a personal thing with
someone you may know. This also concerns all
of us hating our neighbors and even our enemies.
So the question remains, How can we hate these
people whom we have seen and claim to love
God whom we have not seen. The Bible tells
us we can't. It should be noted here that often
our enemies may be unseen, their destruction
is not. These are not my words, but the words
of Holy Scripture. You see John tells us as
Christians, we cannot hate, because if we hate
we cannot love God. I don't know about you
but I love God, therefore I cannot hate my
brother or my enemy. Do me a favor will you,
keep this in mind the next time our enemies
do some terrible act against us, if you hate
them you cannot love God.

Prayer:

Thank you God for giving me a reason to
love and not hate. Thank you for the example
of Christ's ultimate love by giving His life
for me upon the cross. Thank you for the
strength and knowledge that love conquers
all. That love is the ultimate expression of
our Christian Faith. Thank you for Your love
and thank you GOD FOR BEING GOD.

Quote of the Day:

Muriel Lester
Social Activist, Gandhian Pacifist
(1883-1968)

"The job of the peacemaker is to stop war,
to purify the world, to get it saved from poverty
and riches, to heal the sick, to comfort the sad,
to wake up those who have not yet found God."