Love your enemies

Today I was listening to YES FM between 7:15-7:30 or so.  There was a word given and it went right along with something God has already been speaking to me.

Love your enemies.  Or specifically - love your enemy - singular.

The Pastor talked about applying Corinthians 13 to your enemies.  There is one particular person God has laid on my heart recently.  Even as I type this, everything in my spirit kicks at me, wanting to tell you all the wrong, horrible, nasty, terrible things ***** has done.  It's hard - difficult - gut wrenchingly so - not to put it all out there.  I don't WANT to pray for this person - honestly - even though this is a terrible thing to admit - I don't care where ***** ends up - I'm that mad.

This morning God whispered something ever so quietly to me.  He said "What if you pray - and ***** changes?"  I couldn't believe it.  I almost - gulp - didn't want to believe it.  I thought to myself "It's just not possible!  ***** is crazy!"

But what if it is?  It was technically impossible for me to change - but I did.

So - now I know what I must do.  I must swallow my pride.  I must swallow my need to be proven right.  I must swallow my sense of justification - and pray.  Maybe ***** will change, maybe they won't - but that's not really up to me is it?  I've been told what to do - now, I must do it.

I Corinthians 13 (Tami paraphrase)

If I, Tami, speak in tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love for *****, I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal. (In other words, I'm obnoxious and noisy - which makes me no different than *****).  If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not love *****, I, Tami, am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient with *****.   Love is kind towards *****.  It does not envy (this wasn't a problem).  It does not boast.  It is not proud.  It does not dishonor *****, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered at *****, it keeps no records of *****'s wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil (or the undoing of *****), but rejoices in the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes (that ***** will change), always perseveres.

Love never fails.  (***** will change)

Fill in the ***** with your enemy in your life.  This one is a tough pill to swallow.  Trust me, I know.  Just THINKING about praying for ***** makes me cringe and goes against my very nature.  Which tells me, it's a God thing.

Love your enemies.  It's in the bible.