To everyone here.
I would like to thank Salvation for this thread. Some of the responses are somewhat surprising.
As a point of information, I am a saved man, trying to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and His Word.
What is illustrative, to me at least, are the words and actions of Christ Jesus during His time here on earth.
He told us that the greatest of the commandments was to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, mind and soul. And then to love your neighbors as yourself, which is like unto the first.
I did not read of any qualifier there. Nothing saying ‘only the nice ones’ or ‘as long as they are pleasant to you’.
Jesus also said, pointedly I might add, that ANYONE could show love or pray for those they love, but where is the reward there? Even wicked people can do that. Instead we should love and pray for even our enemies.
See also Matthew 5:44 where Jesus Directly says love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them who persecute you.
Praying for someone. This is an activity that can be misunderstood.
For my saved children I pray for Gods protection and blessings on them, their children, their homes and lives.
For my unsaved children, I pray for their salvation, that the Lord would work on their hearts and gather them to Him.
For ‘enemies’, I would pray for them. Not for blessings. And of course not necessarily bad to happen to them. Rather that God would open their eyes and hearts to the wrong or sin they are commiting, that He would provide ample conviction to their heart and soul and He would work His will in their lives.
Even on the cross, surrounded by the people who had plotted against Him, who had scourged Him, who had spit and struck and mocked Him, who had conspired to kill Him, and yes even those who had driven the nails through His feet and hands, even there, Jesus prayed FOR those people who HATED Him, asking God the Father to forgive them.
As believers, Christians, we should try to behave as Jesus did, to be Christ-like, not for our own glory but to bring glory to Him.
As far as Jesus being a pacifist, I would say No to that. There is a place for physical action. Remember, Jesus flipped over tables, made a whip of cords and physically DROVE the money changers and animal dealers out of the temple. Not very pacifist.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3024072/posts?page=27#27
An outstanding post. You put the words of Scripture into everyday language! Wowza!
Love has a nice connotation to it. Who would be against love?
But after the first thoughts and thinking cap installed. What does love mean? It has a strong relationship with the truth and very few want to hear that. It is not the warm fuzzy people want it to mean.