Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said “there is a power in love that our world has not discovered yet,” and he went on to compare this power to a “creative force that works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a harmonious whole.”
God is love, and when we abide in the instruction to love our enemies and overcome evil with good, we are inviting God in to solve our conflicts and heal our disconnection in the only way that assures righteousness and peace.
This is hard teaching and a difficult lesson to learn, even more challenging to apply; love is a practice. And I practiced poorly, because it is easy to love those who give love, but what about learning to love those who fill us with fear, cause pain, and tamper with trust?
As a young person, I experienced and witnessed brokenness, toxic stress, and the generational residue of unaddressed trauma. In my child’s body and child’s intelligence, I could only understand the dysfunction in my environment as something I caused. The aggression, both active and passive, I loathed, and the aggressors, I despised, yet the tragedy was turning that gaze inward. Self-hatred is as sinister and destructive as the sin of judgment and hating your enemy.
“Don’t allow anybody to pull you so low as to make you hate them,” Dr. King said. “Don’t allow anybody to cause you to lose your self-respect to the point you do not struggle for justice.”
Resentment, anger, and self-loathing lock us in cages that prohibit us from being the children of light we are called to be. Thus, our struggle cannot be against people but against darkness, authoritarian powers, and spiritual forces of evil that corrupt, tear apart, and abuse.
I had to decide how to mend my heart and protect it, what I would allow in and what I would either observe or walk away from. So, I say yes to whatever falls down from heaven, such as the nine spiritual fruits, as well as truth, honesty, and communication — to name a few, for God’s blessings are abundant. What I say no to is more clearly defined: fear, hate, lies, and deceit.
My path of healing asked me to go into my pain where I could purge my roots and remove what sprouts discord. Because we have deep faith in the future, Dr. King says, we can accept suffering, which is redemptive.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it only leads to evil.
Psalm 37:7-8
Transform Darkness with Light
Choosing to love our enemies does not mean that we ignore evil. When we turn the other cheek, we don’t look the other way, we look up to the Father who actually does know best. We leave room for God’s justice.
“We must meet physical force with soul force,” Dr. King said.
Through acts of kindness, forgiveness, and friendship, we make pathways to awaken our opponents or enemies to the truth and beauty of God’s eternal love. The end we seek is redemption, reconciliation, and harmony; the best place to start might just be humility.
“Within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good,” Dr. King said. “Discover the element of good in your enemy … find the center of goodness and place your attention there.”
Love builds up, love endures, and love wins. When we allow love to lift us, through its transformative power, we realize the struggle is for salvation, and faith is our victory.
Jesus lived as God with us to show the way of love, and Jesus died to condemn and overcome the prince of this world. Thus, when we live according to the Spirit and set our minds to life and peace, we participate in and perpetuate the triumph already guaranteed.
After all, the best form of revenge is thriving in the abundant life Jesus grants us, and as He said, “Blessed are the merciful.”
Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever. For the Lord loves justice and will not forsake His faithful ones.
Psalm 37:27-28
