Love one another...John 15:12

I have struggled with what to write about this week. There is so much going on as usual so I could write about a lot of different things. Today is Valentine's Day and I was thinking about how much I love my family and my friends. "Love one another as I have loved you" John 15:12.

While thinking about loving one another, a group of verses came to mind....

Matthew 5:43- 48. "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

Jesus tells us to love the people we don't like, the people that hurt us, the people that are basically unloveable. He said if you love someone you like what have you really done? This verse is so convicting to me everytime I come across it in reading or in thought.

When I think of loving the person that has hurt me, I think of forgiveness. When Jesus gave himself and died on the cross, He did this out of love for me (us). I don't deserve to be loved the way God loves me. He loved me before I was born and He loved me when I was unloveable and He loves me now. When I realized I was a sinner and I needed a savior, I accepted Christ as my savior in February 1997. At that very second, I was forgiven for all of my sins. Sins I wouldn't want my kids to know about were forgiven without a question, inquisition or trial. No questions asked, God forgave me. Why? Love!

So...is it too much for Him to ask me to love my enemies and even forgive them? Love them and forgive them even if they don't derserve it? Even if they don't apologize? Even if they don't ask to be loved or forgiven?

There is a person in my life that I love but they have hurt me a lot. I think most of the hurt they caused was unintentional but nonetheless the hurt was still there. The past is the past but I still needed to forgive them so we could have a future. I began to pray that God would heal my hurt and bring us closer together. I prayed that God would take away my unforgiveness so I could feel true love for them. It didn't happen overnight and it's still a work in progress but our relationship is growing stronger with each prayer.

The power of prayer is a true gift from God.

God Bless

Monica