Matthew 18:21-22
Jesus Teaching Peter About Forgiveness
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Matthew 5:43-48
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
1 Corinthians 13:11-13
Faith, Hope, and Love
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Love gives meaning to life...Of love, hope, and faith, St. Paul teaches us that love is our greatest virtue...Love makes for a happier life...
There are other important virtues in life and the first one to come to my mind is forgiveness...Showing mercy and showing grace to others are also nice virtues to have...
Love is easy, but when we think about love, it is only easy if someone treats you well, are family, and/or you have the same interests with the one you love...But love becomes very difficult when we are ask to love our enemies, and they have not treated us well and have harmed us, and when we have little in common and are opposites...
But Jesus tells us to love our enemies...Now that is not easy...Jesus surely LOVES His enemies, because He would not ask something of us, that He does not do...Jesus demands more from us and love than we normally think about...Jesus is setting a higher standard for us in our lives, by teaching us to love our enemies...I think we need to reflect on this teaching and give it some additional thought, because of its difficulty...And He further adds to this to pray for our enemies, so I must believe that He means to pray goodness and happiness towards them...Jesus is asking us very much to look at our hearts and our transient emotions, when we love our enemies...And this is tough and a hard thing to do...
So, with Him teaching this, I must believe that when we do love our enemies, we have a happier life because we have really learned the great virtue of forgiving...And then we learn that forgiveness is a part of love, because we now love our enemies, as well as those who love us...Now Jesus did not say it is easy to love our enemies...So, I also believe that forgiving others when necessary and as Jesus did and taught, will also make our lives a happier one...The things that Jesus teaches us show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and it will be a fuller life and happier life -when we follow His Way...
He is the one that can love the unpardonable...God is very much forgiving...He has this Great Grace and mercy for all beings alive...So when we learn to love our enemies, we are more like God and are happier children of God...