Title: Enemy Love Story
The Lord speaks the words of Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21 from a new angle.
This is a lesson designed to forbid revenge based on personal judgment. In order to maintain the community, we had to prevent harm to others in advance. It also had to prohibit personal retaliation.
However, in the time of Jesus, people's hearts gradually became hardened. So I came to think that just as you used the law to harm me, I will also harm you. Deep down in personal revenge. I regard you as an enemy and my hatred amplified infinitely.
After a car accident, there are people who enjoy compensation while being hospitalized as an excuse. There are people who enjoy the bountiful reward by lying about the presence of bugs or foreign objects on bread or food. A student who makes fun of a teacher by saying hit him if he wants to beat him is a cruel use of the law against corporal punishment.
A life full of personal desires and grudges doesn't go well with any explanation. This kind of life makes the heart sick and eats away life.
The Lord is saying something very paradoxical.
You are asking for really hard work.
It is a world where it is difficult to love even those who love me.
But he commands us to love our enemies.
The kingdom of God is the kingdom where the word of the Lord that we have heard is fulfilled.
It is a country that loves enemies and prays for those who persecute me.
There is no way we can live together if we cut off the relationship by raising the law. It is more important to find a way to live together as children of God, not the law.
Who is my enemy? An enemy is a person or group who is angry with me and has hurt my heart with injustice. It is absolutely unforgivable. This enemy has already inflicted an irreparable emotional wound in his heart. If this could be dealt with by law, it would have already been dealt with and would have given me some comfort. But that's not the case. To say that there is an enemy means that there has already been some kind of incident with the opponent.
I am not a person who helps and loves me, and I am not someone I have no relationship with. There are people who have already hurt you deeply and beyond repair. This person is the enemy.
10 years of tax paid by the people. A lot of that money and material went to the North. But my family died in the sinking of the Cheonan. The shelling of Yeonpyeong Island destroyed my house, destroyed my livelihood, and killed my family. But the Bible tells us to love Kim Jong-il, who is responsible for killing so many people, or the militant group in North Korea.
Some even say that Jesus' words of love for enemies refer to individuals, not groups, nations, or systems. It asserts that relations between groups or nations should be in the interest of the group or the nation. So they argue that it's okay not to love Kim Jong-il or North Korea.
Or suppose one situation. At night, a murderous robber, known for his brutality, came into the house with a knife and a gun. This robber is known to unconditionally kill anyone in the house and sexually assault women. At home, his beloved wife and two daughters are sleeping. And there is one gun in the house. What would you do if you were the husband in this case?
When such a situation, i.e., there is no 'good', only 'bad' situation, we judge 'which is the 'less bad' situation and 'worst' in order to avoid the 'worst'. (次惡, worse or bad).
The important thing is to know that the Lord's command to love remains even if nothing changes.
Our love for our enemies begins with the belief that God is in control of all things in human life. Based on human judgment and logic, we cannot find any basis for the application of the term love of enemies.
When you are faced with an unfair thing, you must give up the idea that you have to deal with the appropriate punishment according to the law. Then you can find the motive for love. If I judge and I am full of thoughts that I must judge, this world cannot taste the kingdom of God.
When I myself stand in the position of God, I cannot lead a normal life with scars full of anger, resentment, and resentment.
Imagine that you have lost a lot of money by being scammed with your eyes open. Let's say you lost tens of thousands of won by being scammed through a cell phone you have these days. When I try to deal with this and judge it, I can't even sleep. I keep getting more and more angry, resentful, and angry, and eventually I get tantrums. Not only did they lose money, but they also suffered physical injuries, and the family leaned and collapsed.
If you love your enemy even if you don't know anything else, of course you can be in this state, but even if you can't help but lose, your body won't get sick and your family can move on to a new life.
We should also think about Dehitri Bonhoeffer's joining the Hitler Assassins. We must also think about the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Archbishop Romero. Our Lord did not say that it is okay to do iniquity. He did not say that those who practice lawlessness should be left unattended.
The Lord has provided a way for us to enjoy an abundant life in the midst of resentment, anger, damage, and irreparable wounds. This is to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Enemies love is not just material consideration, nor is it a spiritual thought. If you truly love, you are putting the other person on the path of true life. This is the act of loving your enemies. We need to give love to our enemies and pray for them.
Pastor Marge's love for enemies made 2 out of 4 who killed their father become Christians and receive new life.