The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-08-04
"LOVe Your Enemies.
Love your enemies st. Matthew 5:44.

A hard saying so this teaching of our Lord has
seemed to men. 1t has seemed to go contrary to some of the
strongest impulses of his nature. Men have chung to revenge
for injury as one of the dearest and sweetest things OF lite.
they have claimed this as a right they have taken pleas
ure in giving way to their feelings of anger and hostility );
and they have risen in fierce rebellion against the sugges-
ton or admonition, that they should forgive and forget.
And so, time and again, men have sacifced everything
rather than lay aside their hostility and desire for revenge.
Rather than to do this, they have, by litigation or other
means of annoyance, frittered away their lives and for
tunes. Rather than be reconciled and forget some long
past cause Of ofense, men have ~ruthlessly sacrificed the
happiness of those they love. Indeed, men have chung to
malice and resentment at whatever Cost-ot money, and
happiness, and even life. And SO it is, perhaps, that this
our text Love your enemies, has seemed to very many men
as a hard saying. 1t has, perhaps, so seemed TO us. A hard
saying and yet, is not that its power Would you have
this gospel descend to you-to the level of your impulses
and cratic inclinations ? sThen indeed it would have no
hard sayings but what would be the worth of the gospel
of such a gospel to you? 1t is the power of this gospel
that it has its hard sayings; that it requires us to come up
to it's high plane Of living, its ideals of feeling and con-
duct. Hard ah! yes, but that is its power and its bless
ing for US. 1t is easy to ascend the outlying foothills of
any mountain system beyond these lie the central noun
tain range, with it's Matterhorn and other peaks,
hard indeed to scale, but bringing fame and re-
ward to him who accomplshes the feat hard to scale,
and therefore appealing to men everywhere to make the
effort. So, the command of our text is not easy; that is tor
US its value, and its appeal. While, then, this duty which
our text enjoins may be hard, it is not impossible. Christ
gave it and He knew what was in man. Out of this
knowledge and understanding of men, He knew that they
could and ought to love their enemies. Men can love their
enemies. This is the great and inspiring thought under
lying this command of Christ. Not something impossi-
bic not something lying beyond his utmost hopes and
aspirations. This is something he can do something that
he must do, therefore. That seems to be the thought I'M
DERIVING this command of the Master. Knowing man as
no other ever did; seeing into him, and beholding all of his
weakness and deficiency He yet believes in him yet
looks for him to reach a very high and exalted plane and
SO says, 'Love your enemies" And SO this command comes
from One Who had an exalted opinion of mankind; be-
licvcd in him and in his future, and in his posi-
biltes of development. SO Christ had a more exalted
opinion of man, greater faith in him than any other
for no other teacher until Christs time had ever ventured
to ask men to love their enemies. They did not have sutf-
cicnt faith in men to risk that. Again, | take it, this
command is not really contrary to nature it may seem to
us unnatural, against reason. 1t is something that belongs
to man in his highest state and development. He who does
not learn to love his enemies fails to reach that high state,
and to be all that of which he is capable. This may be
contrary to mans lower nature to his natural instincts
and reason ; but not to his true and developed nature. Ii
nature means that in man which is most manly, best
and most highly developed, and nearest perfection, then
to love our enemies we may well say is natural-the high
est and best nature. Let me, then, never say that it is I'M
natural to do right, to live under the influence of Christs