Moltmann: for us, His enemies

Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
    —Luke 6:27-28 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Humanly speaking, love of one’s enemies is impossible, “contrary to nature”: the leopard cannot change his spots, as we say. So love of our enemies is the thing that is different, the thing that is divine. “He makes his sun rise upon the evil—on the evil first of all—and on the good.” Love of our enemies is the secret of Jesus that corresponds to God himself. Jesus blessed the people who cursed him. He prayed for the people who tortured him. He did not retaliate, but took suffering upon himself for love’s sake. He died for his enemies on the cross. And so he died for us.
    ... Jürgen Moltmann (b. 1926), The Power of the Powerless, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983, p. 56 (see the book)
    See also Luke 6:27-28; Matt. 5:44-45; Luke 6:34-35; 23:34; Rom. 5:10; 12:14,20-21; 1 Pet. 2:23; 3:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You must change my nature, so that I may follow Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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