You have heard people say, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.” But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors love their friends. If you greet only your friends, what’s so great about that? Don’t even unbelievers do that?
But you must always act like your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:43-48
Loving someone who loves you is really quite easy. And loving someone who hates you is hard, but there is great reward when you step into those waters of loving your enemy. But loving the anonymous crowd provides a real challenge.
Did you ever hear of a bad automobile accident and then experience a great sense of relief that none of the four people killed was someone you know? How does not knowing a person who dies in an accident justify your lack of concern?
I have often wondered how God can stand all the joy and pain of each day. Every day there are men, women, boys and girls who give their hearts to Him and are cause for celebration in Heaven. On that same day there is lots of tragedy, sorrow, grief and pain and those who put their feet firmly on the path to Hell. For all those, the Heart of God suffers and Jesus Himself feels their pain!
Here is a suggestion. When you hear of someone walking through the same troubled waters you have known, even if you don't know them at all, pray for them and those around them as if they were your best friends.
God knows them well, and will welcome your prayers of concern. This is a very special way you can have fellowship with the Heart of God.
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