Love creates far more happiness and peace than retaliation could ever offer. Those who have put the Lord’s teachings to the test are witnesses of His miracles - sometimes a change of heart in our enemy but more often a change in our own hearts. Well, the Master who commanded us to love our enemies happens to be a God of miracles.
We may feel that it takes a miracle to love an enemy. And it’s the happier way too, even if it’s the harder way.
Nothing extinguishes an inflammatory situation quite like kindness, compassion, and love. It’s a great fallacy that you can fight fire with fire firefighters know that water works much better. But evil will not be lessened with more conflict and strife. Yes, it’s true that in life we encounter people who make life difficult, even unbearable at times. That doesn’t mean we put ourselves in dangerous or abusive situations instead, we courageously put negative feelings behind us. What’s more, it gives us access to strength beyond our own (see “Lord, I Would Follow Thee,” Hymns, no. To the contrary, loving our enemies requires the deepest courage and inner strength. But to love those who hate us - is that even possible when the world and our own instincts tell us to fight back, to retaliate, and to return mistreatment with hatred? Wouldn’t loving our enemies make us weak and vulnerable? And with just a bit of effort, we can love a stranger.
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