come what may

Sunday, January 11

On Christmas Day, 1957,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a sermon entitled,
'Loving Your Enemy.'
Through the course of his sermon,
Dr. King suggested three ways by which we can do just that.

First, we must develop
and maintain the capacity to forgive.
Such forgiveness doesn't mean that
we ignore the wrong committed against us.
Rather it means that we will no longer allow the wrong
to be a barrier to the relationship.
Forgiveness, according to King,
'is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary
for a fresh start and a new beginning.'

Second, we must recognize that
the wrong we've suffered doesn't entirely
represent the other person's identity.
We need to acknowledge that our opponent,
like each one of us, possesses both bad and good qualities.
We must choose to
find the good and focus on it.

Third, we must not seek to defeat
or humiliate our opponent,
but to win his or her friendship and understanding.
Such an attitude flows not from ourselves,
but from God as
his unconditional love works through us.

As followers of Christ
who seek to lead as He led,
we must remember that
the more freely we forgive,
the more clearly we reveal the nature of our Heavenly Father.

something to share from an email
:)

-12:12:00 AM
`els