Saturday, October 10

But I say to you that listen; Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
—Luke 6:27-28

Beware of trying to slay the dragon, lest you become the dragon.

Beginning in 1948, the country of Tibet was invaded by China. In a series of events, China overran and annexed that remarkable and gentle nation, and the temporal and spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, had to flee his home. He has lived in exile for more than forty years.

One of his companions, another Lama, was not so lucky. He was captured by the Chinese and imprisoned for years. Much of the time he endured physical and mental torture. When he was finally released after intense international pressure, he was reunited with his old friend the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama asked him how it had been for him. He had been in grave danger two or three times, he replied. Grave danger! On those two or three occasions, he said, he was in grave danger of losing his compassion for the Chinese.

One of the hardest things to do is to change hate into love. For most of us, Jesus’ command to love our enemies and to forgive those who harm us seems like an impossibility. But the truth is, forgiveness is for us, not for our enemies. 

Carrying hate, resentment and bitterness is a heavy and debilitating load. There are only two things that I know of that will freeze and block your spiritual growth. One of those is a refusal to forgive.

Fill our fearful and resentful hearts with your protective grace, that we may live with compassion and forgiveness, and have our share in your work of healing the world. Amen.

These Signposts were originally published on explorefaith.org in 2005.