How Do I Love Thee? A Letter to My Enemies

It seems like we’re ever more aware these days of our political and ideological polarization. Those who once simply were our neighbours, perhaps with whom we had a difference of opinion, increasingly feel like more than that, like our enemies.

Some years ago, writer and teacher Marilyn Chandler McEntyre imagined writing a letter to her “enemies.”

“You are the ones who hurt the people I love. … You are the ones who hurt the people I've been commanded and taught to care about. … You are the ones who set me at war with myself. … You are the ones who take in vain the name of the Lord I love. … You lure and you lie and you threaten.

“And yet… Jesus says ‘Love your enemies.’

“Does he mean you? … And how?

“I must love you because we have been given to one another for that purpose. … I must love you because my life depends upon it. … I must love you because I am like you.”

Click below to take in Ms. McEntyre’s entire reflection, courtesy of The Upper Room.
https://www.upperroom.org/resources/how-do-i-love-thee-a-letter-to-my-enemies/