I have discovered a horrifying truth. Stated simply, it is this: If I do not love my enemy I cannot love anyone.
I have learned this the hard way. I have learned it through pain and hurt, received and inflicted. Have you ever wondered why Jesus would force on us such a radically counter-intuitive demand as this: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." (Mat. 5:44), "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you..." (Luke 6:37-28), "love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back..." (Luke 6:35)?
Jesus understood that all of my love is at risk if I refuse to love (defined as praying for, doing good to, lending to, etc...) my enemy. I am genuinely horrified at this realization. I have good reason to be. There are things we will never understand about ourselves, about God, about the people around us until we can stand before our enemy with love and compassion.
This is not an option reserved for saints. We cannot afford to wait until we achieve sainthood to test the waters on this. There have been few insights that have shaken me as much as this one has.
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I wrestle with the fact of Jesus practicing what He preached ("Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you..." (Luke 6:37-28)) while getting nails driven into his feet and hands--but He did whether I actually grasp it or not.
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