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How Do I Love Those Who Have Hurt Me?
I don't know if any of you have as much trouble with keys as I do, but it seems that every time I'm nearing my front door I can't find the key I need to open up my apartment. This situation becomes even more stressful under the following circumstances: a) it's dark, b) you're tired, or c) you're being followed/stalked by an animal/person (if this happens to you nightly you might need to talk to someone...). When you stop to think about keys something interesting happens to your outlook on keys, at least for me it does. In all of the world, there is one specific key which opens the door to a place that someone wants to go. For this person to enter into where they want to go, they need this specific key. When I think about this I begin to appreciate my keys a little more. I would invite you to look at your keys right now and say, "Thank you little keys (If this weirds you out then you are a lot more normal than the crazies who actually followed my advice)." I would guess if I asked all of you if someone has hurt you in some way in your lifetime 100% of you would answer, yes. And if I were to then ask you how many of you would like to come to a point where you love that person, if you already haven't, almost all of you would answer yes (especially those who have a relationship w/ Jesus).
Who has hurt you in your life? How did they hurt you? Does what they did still affect you?
However, almost all of you who would answer yes probably struggle with loving the people who have or continue to hurt you. Yet, Jesus commands us: "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...(Matthew 5:44)"
How do we love those who have hurt us? How do we love our enemies?
Many of you have furiously searched for ways to do this, you have prayed, you have read your Bible, and you have sought advice. Much like I always search through my keys for the right key you have searched through whatever experiences and resources are at your disposal and you have yet to find the right "key." I want to help you find that key right now. Jesus actually gives us the answer to this life long dilemma. Read with me:
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
Matthew 5:11-12
Did you catch it? It's in that last statement: "...for your reward is great in heaven." You who were at the Rock on Sunday hopefully caught a glimpse of how great heaven will be. An eternity with the God we love and have spent our lives (or part of our lives) seeking out is a paradise we cannot begin to fathom, and Jesus is saying this paradise is the key to loving our enemies. He is saying, in effect, if we want to look at the hatred, opposition, hurt, and pain we experience in this world as something joyful we must be heaven minded. Paul said it best:
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2
How does this help us? It's actually simpler than you would think. Let's say you're in a cross-country race. At some point in the race you will begin to experience pain. Your side may cramp up, your feet may get sore, and/or your legs may become weak. If this begins to happen towards the middle of the race, and the finish line is no where in sight, then most of us will begin to become discouraged and seriously consider slowing down. However, if this begins to happen as you take that last turn and straight ahead of you is the finish line you then become encouraged. The pain becomes worthwhile and makes this soon-to-be finish even sweeter. God has promised us eternity in His presence; where pain, loneliness, struggle, quarrels, fighting, etc. will be no more. If we will trust our God and seek Him out and His kingdom, he will pour on us the hope of what lies beyond our finish line.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Psalm 73:23-24
May we seek out our God, and may we seek His kingdom in this world and the next, and may we trust that as we do he will recklessly pour out his grace on us. For this is the key which unlocks the door of joy and hope which will grant us the ability to love even those who have hurt us most.
