Article March 20, 1995 Issue

Who or what is the enemy?

Clifford Kapps Eriksen

Huge snowflakes were falling through the frigid night air and reflecting the bright lights that lit up the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral. My wife and I had been invited by the Russian government to participate in an international educational symposium. And there we were standing in Moscow's Red Square having our picture taken with a Russian guard.

Another member of our group commented, "How can anyone behold the beauty and wonder of this moment and not acknowledge the presence of God?" As I drank in the special nature of that moment and pondered this display of friendship—especially with a citizen of a nation considered a political enemy for so many decades—I was reminded of the incisive questions Mary Baker Eddy asks in an article that appears in her book Miscellaneous Writings. "Who is thine enemy," she says, "that thou shouldst love him? Is it a creature or a thing outside thine own creation?" (P.8).

Her answer to those questions is thought-provoking because it points up a powerful spiritual lesson and clearly defines the challenge facing everyone who strives to obey Christ Jesus' injunction "Love your enemies" (Matt. 5:44). She says, "Simply count your enemy to be that which defiles, defaces, and dethrones the Christ-image that you should reflect." In those few words can be found a yardstick for measuring our outlook on life and our response to conflicts both individual and international.

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