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.
Martin Luther King Jr was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 till his assassination in 1968...He spoke much about non-violence and to me seems to follow Jesus' Way in leading the civil rights movement...He used love and non-violence in his work to help others be treated better and more equally and fair...He worked much of his life on trying to get equality for minorities...
Dr. King said these things about life, Jesus, and the Bible, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”...“Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.”...“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power...And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals...Just keep being friendly to that person...Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long...Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning...They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them...And by the power of your love they will break down under the load...That’s love, you see...It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love...There’s something about love that builds up and is creative...There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive...So love your enemies.”...“There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us...When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”...“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”...“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”...“I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.”...“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”...“As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force...I decided to follow the latter course.”...“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”...“Science investigates; religion interprets...Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control...Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values...The two are not rivals.”...