Love Your Enemies.

I'm interrupting our regularly scheduled programming of addiction, shame, and freedom to talk about love, hate, and peace-cookies.

I keep thinking about the intricacies of loving our enemies – how Jesus loved Judas up until the end, all the while still aware of the swelling betrayal that would crescendo to death.

I wish loving others was as simple as boxing up a few of my beloved chocolate chip cookies, tying some baker’s twine into a bow, and gently laying them at the feet of my enemies, like a
peace-offering.

Love your enemies. I believe Jesus knew both the gravity and victory those three words contain when He spoke them. He didn't follow them with a preposition, or give an addendum, just a simple, yet strong statement: Love your enemies. Oof.

In spite of their actions.*
Regardless of if their behavior changes.
Even if they don't like our preferences, or we don’t like theirs.

When He was dying on the cross — naked, bloody, weak — He pleaded, "Father, forgive them..."
Love was still on His lips. Love was intertwined in His last words.

And the same Love that soaked His last breath, the same power that raised Him from the dead, emblazons within you.

He knows we can't achieve this kind of love on our own, never mind through baked goods. But when we allow Him to empower us to do the unfathomable, we can give Love that extinguishes hate, that hydrates with compassion and empathy, and nourishes forgiveness. This is Love cloaked in humility, that transverses beyond an Instagram story – Love that thrives without recognition or explanation.

The person you hate the most (or the one who gets under your skin) – He loves them still. And He’ll give you the strength to love as He does, if you just ask.

Because He’s made us into people who can love with arms wide open (and a cookie in hand), regardless of what’s in the other person’s. 🌼

*This absolutely isn’t a plea to love and remain in an abusive situation- whether physical, sexual, mental, or emotional. While His Love is the balm that leads to healing and forgiveness, it’s also the Love that rescues and cares for our well-being.