Article August 28, 1989 Issue

When loving someone is difficult

Loving our enemies can seem impossible when a terrible wrong has been done to us. But the power of divine Love can free us from the prison of hatred.

Thomas Richard Mitchinson

Life for many is not easy. People get hurt. Plant closures, divorces, family separations, mental and physical assaults, can leave people with open wounds of emotional sensitivity that can easily scar with hatred.

But hatred is a prison, the walls of which, although invisible, can keep us confined in old remembrances and hurts. Its cell mates include depression, despondency, and inertia. Hatred has a window on the past, but no door of escape to a better present and future. There is a power, though, that breaks open this prison. It is the power of God, divine Love. This power is always present and can bring us freedom.

I'd like to share with Sentinel readers how a hateful relationship was healed. Time didn't bring the healing; neither did distance or human willpower. It was the touch of Christ, the power of divine Love, that finally cleansed me of hatred and revenge. And this enabled me to follow Christ Jesus' admonition "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."^{Matt. 5:44, 45.}

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

When loving someone is difficult

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access