Loving all of your neighbors

"You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? - Matthew 5:43-46 (NKJV)

Everybody has had someone in their life that has done them wrong; someone that has used or abused them with no remorse or regret. Even years after the incident, the feelings of hurt that we have inside of us can continue to brew. When we are harboring anger and bad feelings toward someone, it affects our lives and how we interact with other people.

Earlier this year, my Dad passed away. We had a very troubled relationship over the years. Although I truly miss him, after his passing I began re-plowing old ground in our relationship. I realized that I was holding on to every problem we had as I was growing up. I still became angered and hurt at him, even after all of this time. As I reexamined my childhood, I began to remember things that I had long since forgotten. With every memory came a new flood of emotion.

After a time, I began to realize that there was no way to redo the past; to fix the wrongs. I realized that I needed to move on. I felt like the best thing that I could do was to ask God for help with these reemerging feelings. I began to pray for strength and compassion. I wanted to love my Dad regardless of our past. With God's help, I was able to put it all behind me and reformulate my love for my Dad. It was a process that I could not have went through without prayer.

In reality, many times too much time has passed to do anything about old incidents. I remember having boys bully me in school, but truly, who remembers it besides me? Most of these incidents happened almost 25 or 30 years ago.

Even today, I encounter people that hassle me about my Christianity and those that simply do not believe that accepting Christ made the difference in my life that it did. They say and do all sorts of things, but I have to remain faithful to my Christianity. Christ is more important to me than any issues that I can have with someone.

The best way that we can deal with those that have wronged us to simply pray for them and treat them the way that Christ treated those that persecuted Him. As He hung on the cross, he prayed "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." The volume of love he showed in those simple words is amazing to me and brings me to tears every time I read them. It is something that each one of us should strive to achieve for our enemies. After all, it is our duty to reach the lost of the world and show them the love that Christ has for them.

What do others see in you?

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. - Luke 6:43-44 (NIV)

Have you ever been around a Christian that is always grumbling and complaining? I have been that person before. Not only is it a sin, but it drags down every person around them. Aside from that, it shows a total lack of trust in God and doesn't show others what God has done for us. Like the Bible says in Luke 6:45,

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

I always try to show others that have this problem what they are doing with this negative attitude. I try to motivate them to pray over their situations and surrender them totally to God; a lesson that I had to learn.

In all honesty, we are only human and are going to make mistakes. We are going to have those times when our actions will speak much louder than our words; times when we pridefully want to be seen in a certain light but when other people's view of us are corrupted by something we have said or done. There will be those times when we want others to see the difference that God has made in our lives, but when we are acting just like everyone else.

The greatest witness you will ever be to someone is by exibiting Christ in your life ... to wear Him on your sleeve, so to speak. Maintain your spiritual and moral integrity, and don't try to fit in with the crowd or with someone that is pressuring you to do something that you know is wrong. You will have a much more positive influence on others if you show that the joy of the Lord in your life is more important to you than anything that this world can offer.

Cursing, smoking, drinking, being promiscuous, listening to music that isn't uplifting, and even gossiping are all things that say to the world, "God didn't really change me." Remember, "No good tree bears bad fruit". As Christians, we have something to share and it is our responsibility to show it. If Christ can change our lives and put us on a road to Heaven, He can do the same for anyone in this lost and dying world.

Another step in the journey ...

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

Last year, I lost everything. I lost my vehicle, my apartment, my bank account, and my job. Within a period of 3 months, I was living with a relative and looking for a job. At first, I was very resentful toward God because it didn't make any sense. I worked so hard to finally achieve something in my life, and then it gets taken away in one broad stroke. It was also more than humbling to ask people for help and for them to tell you no ... even close relatives and friends. For the first time in my life, it was just me and God. Thankfully, my Cousin stepped up to the plate and offered to give me a place to stay until I could get on my feet. It was a blessing to have her do this for me. She was the only person that came forward to help.

At first, I was a bit uncomfortable. I didn't know how this was going to work out. Her and her Husband were beginning to have problems shortly before I got there. And although there house was big, I wondered if it was big enough. I also had to rebuild my life and didn't know if I could deal with everything at once. One thing that I have learned, though, is that God always has a bigger plan and purpose.

My cousin gave me all of the space I needed and all of the moral support that she could offer. She unselfishly took me back and forth to my new job and fed me without a second thought. I owed her much more than the money that I was able to give her.

During my stay there, I was often the impartial observer, friend, and referee ... but most of all, I was their own personal Pastor. I had been the one that introduced them 19 years before and wanted to do whatever I could to help them and to keep them in tune with God. I listened many times as they tearfully told me things that had gone unconfessed for years, and expressed their commitment to staying together due to their love for each other and for the good of their son. There were also many times that I was able to comfort a frightened 12 year old as he came to me in tears, fearful that his parents were going to get a divorce. In helping them to keep their faith in God, they helped rebuild mine. I wouldn't trade my time with them for anything.

Over the last year, I have slowly rebuilt what I have lost. I now have a vehicle again, that was given to me by a member of the Church. I have a job that is much better than the one that I lost. I also have a great apartment that is half the cost of the one I left. Although I couldn't envision it in the beginning, God has truly brought me through the rain and blessed me in the process.

I know now that although things looked pretty bleak, that God had a greater plan for me. God placed me where He needed me, the whole time teaching me about faith and trust in Him. He also brought me and my Cousin, along with her Husband, into a much closer friendship with each other. I have no doubt that God's hand was on my life every step of the way.

No matter what you are going through, always put your faith and trust in the Lord. When the skies darken and the storm clouds roll in, Praise the Lord anyway because "all things work together for good...". There is a purpose to everything that comes up in our lives. Place all your cares on Him and He will part those clouds with His love.

Turn to God, and He will take you places and teach you wonderful things that you can't even imagine.