Illustration Courtesy of Ken L. Hagler
BreathPrayer Love
Breath Prayer for your week: "Loving God, make me able to love all people."
When facing death, your own or the death of a loved one, I have learned it is not "iron sharpening iron," but iron being sharpened. Whether by stone or sharpener, it matters little, your life is brought into focus and what matters least, what needs to be cast aside, is done a bit at a time. We are not left the same but, by grace, I think we do get some say about how we will end up (This is part of our being freed from sin which I will touch on in an upcoming YouTube video).
Illustration Courtesy of Ken L. Hagler
Carving Knife
One of the more difficult parts of this is how loving others and forgiveness plays into the sharpening. I just cannot seem to shake the nagging work of the Holy Spirit convicting me of this particular element. It is not just forgiving we are called to do though. We are called to love. Love not just family and friends. Not just acquaintances or that person who stole our parking space at Wal-Mart. We are called to even love our enemies. On this account, Jesus did not mince words:But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. (Luke 6:35)
We (myself included) are having a really difficult time with this it seems. Sadly, Christians today seem no longer intent on labeling those we disagree with on opinions of Scriptural interpretation and application. No, now we will cozy up to any group, any political party and seek to discredit and humiliate other believers because they do not "love" as we love or "seek God" by our definition. What is sharpening me is the fact my wife is dying and this has made me keenly aware the problem is not that I disagree with people on both sides. The diagnoses Jesus is giving is that I'm not loving these people AND I may even consider them an enemy. This is MY problem, not their's. Jesus does not say post and parade about with my superior stance. Jesus calls ME to do something just like HE did something and that was to love enough to die for enemies.
So let me suggest this idea for you to take on. As you pray this prayer, consider someone (or someones) you struggle getting along with. Rather than say "all people" insert their name. If you are dealing with a hidden bigotry, consider praying for that people group. Breath prayers are simple prayers. I did not say they would be easy. (For more on Simple Prayer, go to my YouTube video)
The Rev. Ken L. Hagler serves as pastor of Cummings United Methodist Church in Cummings, Ga. A certified spiritual director, he blogs at Jedi Pastor Ken.