Many people today engage in over-the-top activities in search of the next adrenaline rush. No longer is it enough to just do something, it all has to be “extreme!” Extreme sports may include skiing down nearly impossible terrain or jumping off a cliff into the ocean many feet below. Cars have to be extreme too by sporting insane amounts of horse power or gadgets galore. Even home renovations have to be extreme make-overs.
Is there something left today, to be extreme or radical about? How can someone be genuinely outstanding or do something really momentous? Maybe there is one thing—possibly the most daring action one could ever engage in: To obey Jesus’ challenge to love others! The common standard is “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” but Jesus upped the ante by requiring his followers to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Just a few days ago we commemorated the tenth anniversary of 9/11, when terrorists of Islamic background brutally attacked New York City and Washington D.C., causing relationships between Muslims and people of other faiths to be changed in an instant. What if we as followers of Jesus take His revolutionary call to heart and begin to resist the fear and dislike which tend to characterize our relationship with those who are our enemies and extend love toward those who hate us?
We may not rub elbows with Muslims every day, but we probably are aware of people who don’t like us or make life difficult for us. The challenge that Jesus presents to his followers is indeed extreme. We are to imitate and obey Jesus by repenting of our hateful feelings toward others and to pray that they will experience true blessing and peace. Maybe we can even commit to do an act of kindness for someone who has opposed us or given us heartache. If we season our witness with words of grace, arm ourselves with love, truth, and good deeds, our “extreme” love might win others over to trust in Christ. After all, He practiced what he preached; He laid down his life for all, not just his friends!
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