Love Your Enemies

August 31, 2011

SCRIPTURE: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” {Matthew 5:44, HCSB}

QUOTE: The bible teaches us to love our neighbors and our enemies because generally, they are the same people. G.K. Chesterton

THOUGHT: It takes no grace to love those that love us but no man can love his enemies without divine assistance.

COMMENTARY: Nicolae Ceausescu was the ruthless communist dictator of Romania from 1967-1989. Both he and his wife were tried on public TV and executed shortly after the broadcast. During his reign of terror thousands Christians were tortured and murdered. One of his henchman was a man referred to as Colonel Albon. The Colonel beat and tortured prisoners on a regular basis. He had heard that an inmate was preaching in the cell block so he went to investigate. No one would confess so he begins beating each prisoner one by one. When he comes to a layman by the name of Ion Stanescu; he stood up to Albon and said, “enough, you will beat no more prisoners, there is a God in heaven and He will judge you.” Every man in the block knew that Ion had signed his own death warrant but before the Colonel could respond, he was called to the prison office. He returned to the cell block two hours later but this time as a prisoner. It was common in a communist regime for one communist to betray another and someone had set the Colonel up. The other prisoners would have beaten him to death but Ion Stanescu intervened. He used his body as a human shield to protect the very man who had been beating him. Folks, I don’t know about you but as for me, I need God’s grace to love my enemies. It is something I cannot do on my own.

EXTRA: Want to see what a watermelon looks like after a Coyote has sucked out its heart. I reckon I am running a ranch of coons, coyotes and groundhogs. I saw something today that I never thought I would see; Charlie on a lap top. I think he likes to shop on line.