How Much Do You Love Your Enemies?

15 February, 2010

Mick Christianity , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

You have probably head it before; love your enemy as yourself.  Jesus said it himself in Matthew 5:43.  I heard this many times growing up, as many of you may have as well.  But what exactly does that mean?

When the Bible talks about enemies, it is not talking about relationships akin to those of Batman and the Joker, or Spider-Man and Venom (though those type of relationships would not be excluded form this discussion).  It would be more along the lines of people you just do not get along with, or those that really make life difficult.

Who are some of your enemies?

What do you think about them?

My guess is that loving them would be close to impossible without knowing the love Christ has for them.  I have even heard that we need to love our enemies, but that doesn’t mean we need to like them.  I would put serious question behind the motives of this line of thinking.

A good example of how we should love our enemies is found between David & Saul.  If you have ever read the book of 1 Samuel, then you know they were mortal enemies.  There was a difference how the two acted toward one another.  Saul absolutely hated David, but David loved Saul.

Even after Saul was dead, David still loved him.  Consider the relationship that David and Mephibosheth (Mef-i-bo-sheth) had with one another.  Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, and the grandson of Saul.  He probably would have been declared king of Israel had he not fallen and become lame (2 Samuel 4:4).

David’s love for his enemy extended all the way to the third generation and beyond.  If you read the rest of 2 Samuel, Mephibosheth appears several times, and it is generally when David is showing kindness to him.  I don’t want to take away from this amazing friendship, so you can start reading about it in 2 Samuel 9.

Do you have enemies?  If so, do you love them in a way that shows Christ’s love much like David showed to Mephibosheth?  Think about it.  Pray about it.

Book Review: The Search for God and Guinness

8 February, 2010

Mick Book Review , , , , , , , 2 Comments

The Search for God and Guinness is written by New York Times best-selling author, Stephen Mansfield.  In The Search for God and Guinness, Mansfield makes a very successful attempt at showing the history of one of the worlds largest beer brewers.  The history that you find in this book, however, is surprising in that the Guinness family has actually been compassionate to those in need in the name of Christ.

I was immediately drawn into the book as Mansfield gives a humorous story about a blonde he met outside of the Guinness Brewery in Ireland that had no idea what the company did.  What captured my attention even more is how the company has used their wealth to help so many people.  Did you know Arthur Guinness (the founder) is responsible for starting Sunday schools all over Dublin?

I have always said that there are two kinds of cultures that surround this beverage.  One can be found on almost every college campus, which is drinking beer for the sole reason to get drunk.  The other, much more respectable culture is about people enjoying the beverage because they enjoy the taste with no intent to get drunk.

After reading this book, I think it would be safe to say that Arthur Guinness, his descendants, as well as the rest of the company would like to be associated with the later of the two cultures.

In the end, reading through The Search for God and Guinness has been encouraging.  Seeing a wealthy family rise up to the needs of their community instead of being greedy and selfish brings a great respect for Guinness.

Links to Check Out:

Follow Stephen Mansfield on Twitter: @mansfieldwrites

Visit Stephen Mansfield’s webpage/blog: mansfieldgroup.com

Buy the Book on Amazon: Click Here

Highlights from 1 Samuel

7 February, 2010

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David has always been one of my favorite people to read about in the Old Testament.  Recently I decided to read through 1 & 2 Samuel once again, and finished 1 Samuel last week.  Here are some highlights from my reading:

  1. Hannah was an amazing woman to give Samuel to God (1 Samuel 1).
  2. What’s up with people raising children who are ungodly? (Eli’s boys – 1 Samuel 2:12; Samuel’s boys – 1 Samuel 8:3)
  3. Ebenezer: a rock/monument that Samuel set up to remember God’s help for His people (1 Samuel 7:3-14).
  4. Saul was much taller than most people in Israel (1 Samuel 9:2); which makes him seem like even more of a sissy when Goliath taunts his army.
  5. Saul was idiot when it came to following God’s commands (1 Samuel 13).
  6. God shows his greatness in the smallest of things (1 Samuel 16:1-13).
  7. Saul needed to take lessons on how to throw a spear (1 Samuel 19:10, 20:33).
  8. Always check the bathroom for monsters (1 Samuel 24:1-4).
  9. David was a ladies man (1 Samuel 25:43-44), which will be his downfall in 2 Samuel when he meets Bathsheba.
  10. David made friends with the Philistines for a short time (1 Samuel 27).
  11. Saul went to En-dor to meet up with a psychic (1 Samuel 28). I wonder if he ran into ewoks (who are from the planet Endor in Star Wars)?
  12. Saul committed suicide (1 Samuel 31:4).