Christian Living
HATE, NO; LOVE, YES!
"You have heard it said, ‘’Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy,’ Jesus observed. "But I say: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:43-45). As for the former, it was probably a common expression, deemed a wise course of action. As for the latter, it consisted of a surprising alternative.
What is love? In brief, a deep affection. Along with the desire that he or she benefits. Conversely, what is hate? Said to be a passionate dislike. One that hopes the individual will suffer from his or her perceived faults. As such, love and hate stand in sharp contrast.
Even so, love is not necessarily tolerant of the behavior of another person. Why? Because the behavior may be detrimental to the individual and/or others implicated. So that genuine love strives for what is good, while respecting the integrity of others. Consequently, love encourages dialogue in hopes of clarifying the situation, and leading to a favorable course of action.
As the preferred option, several comments enlarge upon it in greater detail: (1) "We are all born to love. It is the principle of existence and its only end" (Benjamin Disraely, Sibl or the Two Nations in William Sykes, The Eternal Vision, p. 270).
(2) "The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love" (W. Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up).
(3) "You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give" (Kahil Gibran, The Prophet).
(4) "There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved; it is God’s finger on man’s shoulder" (Charles Morgan, The Foundation).
(5) "Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing broader; nothing is more lovely, nothing richer, nothing better in heaven or in earth" (Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ).
(6) "Love to God is the slowest development to mature in the soul. No man ever learned to love God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself, in a day" (Henry Ward Beecher, Proverbs from Plymouth Rock in Sykes, Ibid., p. 271).
(7) "Love is the supreme badge of any true Christianity, and the traits of the beatitudes in a person’s life are surer evidence that he belongs in Christ’s family, than is the fact that he holds current opinions of obscure questions of belief" (Rufus M. Jones, Spiritual Reformers in 16th and 17th Centuries).
(8) "Love is eager, sincere and kind; it is glad and lovely; it is strong, patient and faithful; wise, long-suffering and resolute; and it never seeks its own ends, for where a man seeks his own ends, he at once falls out of love" (Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ). His own ends only as exclusive of God’s will for his life, and a concern for others.
(9) "Love all God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of god’s light! Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. And once you have perceived it, you will begin to comprehend it ceaselessly more and more every day" (Frydor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov).
(10) "To make Love the ruling power of my life, the only power. To be kind, gentle, considerate and unselfish, to let nothing stand in the way of doing everyone a good turn, never to consider myself and my own feelings, but only other people’s. To put myself out to any extent for the sake of others, especially for the sake of those who are not attractive" (Edward Wilson in George Seaver, The Faith of Edward Wilson and in Sykes, Ibid., pp. 271-272).
"Existence will remain meaningless for you if you yourself do not penetrate into it with active love and if you do not in this way discover its meaning for yourself. Everything is waiting to be hallowed by you; it is waiting for this meaning to be disclosed and to be realized by you. Meet the world with the fullness of your being and you shall meet God. If you wish to believe, love!" (Martin Buber in Aubrey Hodes, Encounter with Martin Buber and in Sykes, Ibid., p. 272).
If inspired by the above quotes, you might add one or more of your own. Thus leaving for others those insights which have impressed you. Thus as a practical application of love.
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