“Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?”
~ Abraham Lincoln
“I say, love your enemies!”
~ Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:44
Turn enemies into friends
November 8, 2019 | 23 comments
Spiritual ideas that inspire healing
That quote from Abraham Lincoln really sheds new light on the many accounts of wars and fights in the Bible, stories of destroying the enemy!
I’m studying the book of Joshua, at present – the conquering of the promised land and settlement of it by the tribes of Israel. They had orders from God to destroy all the inhabitants, when they entered the territory which was to be theirs. It did not seem to be a very good way to establish a place to live and thrive! And the fighting continues right up to the present, because they have not destroyed their enemies by making them friends!
A good thought, too, in the present political struggles heading into the next election.
When I was in grade school, I had a friend. She and I were the only ones from that grade school going on to the same high school. We remained friends and joined with a group of other girls.
Then, quite unexpectedly, everything changed. She ignored me, scowled when I greeted her, told one of the other girls she couldn’t bear it when I grinned at her like a cheshire cat. I had no idea what had led to this situation, but I loved the beatitudes and I kept on loving her. I really prayed to see her as God sees her, reflecting all His Godlike qualities. The animosity dissolved. Our entire group still loves and appreciates each other, and has been meeting up twice a year, since we celebrated becoming friends decades ago.
Truly, we destroy our enemies by making them our friends.
In Christian Science, we learn that God does not have “personality.” He/she is Spirit–all good. The patriarchs you mentioned in the Bible did not (yet) understand this. The coming of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) brought to light that God is Spirit and has no human (material) element. Referring to God, Habukkuk 1:13 says “Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil and thou canst not look upon iniquity.” Politics are unknown to God because they are a human invention. However, we can pray to know that Truth (a synonym for God) will prevail regardless of the human politics, one side or the other. Truth marches on. And praying to see all mankind as created in His (God’s) image as stated in Genesis I, we can perceive man’s pure, spiritual origin as untouched and untainted by human conditions. Each of us was created by Love and is loved by God. Expressing Love surely heals.
Thank you Leah❣️
Thank you, Leah!
very helpful in these times
Really good, thank you for the reminder. That’s the way my Dad raised me – see even just one good thing about another little girl and think about that only. It always works as it overcomes the negative. He also taught me to remember that other little girls and boys may be having problems at home that I didn’t have or know about. He said to go and make them my new friend as they needed one. That always worked, too, I think it’s called love, treating others the way I would like to be treated.
Brilliant !
Real good food for thought! Thanks
Yes, definitely nourishing food for thought.
Love this Evan! 🙂
It is the only lasting way to live. When we leave someone out, we out one of God’s precious creations who like us are seeking to belong. The tools of our warfare are different from those of evil, we follow the divine order of Love a Truth of all Life being an expression of God. Where a mortal man would choose a sword, we choose to love; where a mortal would choose a spear, we choose accept their presence, where a mortal would choose to lie or some other form of non-truth, we choose to stand firm in our faith that God is good – all good and only good. Thank you Evan for this inspiring post.
Perfectly clear why people who historically never loved one another continue to fight a win/lose battle. Rise above the fray, peaceful coexistence wins the day; better to be full of love.
This is truly is an “AMEN”
June Clark, C. S.
Mobile, Alabama
A much needed lesson. “Don’t make mountains out of
Molehills” a mountain being just a bigger pile of earth…
Or dirt. A speaker at my association pointed this out many years ago
Spiritually handles dirt dissolves no matter how big it seems!
Thanks for the reminder!
I like that, MJ, and we also have God’s command in 1 Kings 19:11 to “go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” Trample thoughts of animosity, hatred, fear, etc. underfoot – destroy them with Love.
When I asked the CS teacher in Berlin, where I took CS class instruction, what that means in the 23rd Psalms, verse 5 where it says: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies”, and I said that I think we have no enemies, he instructed me that these socalled enemies are the “false claim of the animal magnetismn”. I found that very understandable because that means, that an enemy is not at all a person but just a false claim, a nothingness, actually. Am still grateful for this truth explanation.
Thank you Evan, that you make me ponder this thought from A. Lincoln and Christ Jesus!
Thanks, Evan, and to everyone for your very thoughtful comments. I feel blessed to have such a loving extended family.
I like that, MJ, and we also have God’s command in 1 Kings 19:11 to “go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” Trample thoughts of animosity, hatred, fear, etc. underfoot – destroy them with Love.
What wonderful food for thought, Evan! And what excellent and insightful comments from all! This one is surely a keeper!
Prose Works has one of the beginning chapters about loving our enemies. I see this as a top priority in our growth forward with God. I just studied that chapter and found so much to digest!
A GRATEFUL HEART
I offer this account of healing for all who feel they have been praying about a problem for a long time with little results. When my husband and I were married he was estranged from his mother and another family member and had been for a long time. The estrangement was so severe that he no longer called her Mom. She didn’t attend our wedding and I never met her. In the early years of our marriage I occasionally suggested that he might like to send a Mother’s Day or Birthday card but was met with a NO that told me the door was closed to all contact. I soon realized I needed to leave this with God. A few years before when I took Christian Science class instruction, I’d learned that Mary Baker Eddy prayed in this way, “Each day I pray: “God bless my enemies; make them Thy friends; give them to know the joy and the peace of love.” (My. 220:21)
At that time, I had adopted this prayer, made it my own and endeavored to daily pray with it. Now I found myself embracing these family members in it as well, praying, “Father-Mother God bless my enemies and those that think they are my enemies, make them Thy friends; give them to know the joy and the peace of Your love.” I didn’t pray for forgiveness or even reconciliation. I just prayed for all to feel God’s love and peace. Thirty plus years came and went with virtually no contact and then one day, out of the blue, his mother called. He wasn’t home so I took the message. She just wanted to see him. But how to tell my husband without getting the NO I had heard so often in the past? I wholeheartedly turned to God to give me the words and to put the spirit of love in the hearts of each of us. And the words came! My husband went and met with his mother. Some things were said that needed to be, but not unkindly. Her desire was to get to know him after hearing what a fine person he was. They continued to meet and very quickly all the hardness between them just dissolved and turned into the warmth and love that they genuinely shared. And the other family member was cordial as well. I thanked God over and over for showing me the humility it took for my husband’s mother to take the first step and place the phone call and also for the graciousness of my husband to open his heart again and meet with her. They have both been blessed by this and so have I. I praise our great and loving God who can soften hearts and tear down walls of hate and hurt and give the ‘joy and peace of His love.” I would encourage all who feel they have been praying forever to resolve a problem to just stay with it and see the results of faithful prayer. God bless Christ Jesus who taught us to pray,”OUR Father which art in heaven…” and Mary Baker Eddy who taught us to pray,”God bless my enemies, make them Thy friends…” I’m deeply grateful!
This is a very special story. Thanks for sharing!
You’re very welcome!