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“But I say unto you, love your enemies.” Matthew 5:44a (NIV)

So, Jesus did say we should love our enemies. I mean, not to love those who love us, but rather love those who hate us. I confess that this is not an easy thing for me to do; it does not come naturally; instead, it takes effort. I have to really make an effort to love and not hate someone who does things to hurt me.

I watched a movie recently that left my chin hanging. The movie was called The Railway Man and it is based on the true story of Eric Sutherland Lomax, a British Army soldier who was taken prisoner to a Japanese camp during World War II. While at the prisoner-of-war camp, Lomax was unjustly tortured and beaten, almost to the point of death, by a Japanese soldier whose face haunted him for many years in his post-war nightmares.

Lomax had desired to meet that Japanese soldier again one day and kill him. So, when the opportunity presented itself many years later, he came close to doing just that, but something stirred up inside of Lomax and he actually forgave his former captor and torturer. Not only that, the two men came to be very good friends until the death of the Japanese man.

That movie made me think a lot about life. We read the Bible and we pray to God, but oftentimes we do not practice what it tells us, because we consider it “too tough.” We do nice things for people who do nice things for us in return. We love who loves us in return. We help those who help us in return. What about the unlovable? Who will love them? Who will help them? Who will tell them about a God who can deliver them, love them unconditionally and help them to love back?

The friendship between Lomax and his former torturer was only made possible when Lomax realized that killing the man who once almost killed him was not the answer to his emotional struggles and that forgiving him could open the door for him to feel released from the burdens of the war that stayed so far behind in years. Forgiveness yields love.

“Dear Lord, the improbable, unimaginable and unbelievable are possible through You.”

 For His Glory

Luska Natali
TRBC Women’s Life