Do you have any enemies? I'd be surprised if you don't, and actually, I hope you do. If you're standing strong for things that really matter, there are probably all kinds of people who are your enemies.
For instance, as a psychologist, I stand as strongly as I know how for what I call "unconditionally." I try to look at the errors and deficiencies of people with both realism and nonjudgmentalism. I take as strong a stand as I know how against any form of depreciation of the worth of anyone who happens to take a position different from mine or different from anyone else's.
And because of this, I know there are people who think that I am "overly soft," "weak" and "a pushover."
Moreover, I encourage every human being to make choices for themselves. If I sense that someone is trying to usurp the choice-making right of another, I encourage these "others" to chase those "controllers" off. In the process of encouraging them to do this, the people they are chasing off often become angry with me.
So, I have some enemies!
During Biblical times, Jews and Gentiles were frequently pitted against one another. They were enemies! And since the time of Christ, Jews and Christians have often been enemies.
That is why Paul's admonitions about the peace that comes to every person as a result of the life and death of Jesus are so important. The fact is, according to Paul, that all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, may come to God the Father with the Holy Spirit's help because of what Christ has done for us." (Ephesians 2:18)
Don't forget, when you're thinking about your enemies, that God is just as concerned about them as he is about you. Insofar as he is their father and yours, he encourages you to become as eager for their wholeness as he is for yours.
The most efficient way to bring about peace between you and someone else is to remember three simple facts:
- The same God who created you created them, and he loves you and them equally.
- Peace tends to come about between two persons when they both recognize that their worth is established, that their lovability is secured, and their future is blessed.
- When this intra-personal love gets converted into inter-personal love, when the two of them become motivated by a desire for their mutual relationship, all kinds of wonderful things begin to happen.
But it is crucial here to remember that every person on earth can live in the peace that comes from God through Christ.
Ephesians 2:17 - "And he has brought this good news of peace to you Gentiles who were very far from him, and to us Jews who were near."
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