“The best measure of spiritual maturity is not how much you know about God but how much you imitate his love toward enemies. There is no narrower path than this. Along the way, difficult as it is at times, lies the deepest satisfaction a soul can ever know. Jesu invites you and me to follow him down the narrow path.”- Rich Villodas
Jesus said, “father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing.”- Luke 23:34 (NIV)
“One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one’s own.”- James Baldwin
Rich Villodas concludes Chapter 12 of The Narrow Path with a comprehensive perspective on loving our enemies. Rich explores three ways.
1. Prayer. One of the primary ways Jesus invites us to love our enemies centers on praying for them. Certainly, Rich acknowledges, it’s normal to pray raw prayers. Prayers filled with rage and grief. As a result, this process grounds us in reality. Also, such prayers open us to God’s presence. Because bottled up anger puts us in danger. But Jesus can handle, and even invites, our honest prayers.
Yet, Jesus calls us to pray for our enemies. In the process, we open space for the Holy Spirit to form us. A gradual, not instant, process.
2. Truth-telling. Most significantly, Jesus spoke the truth in a way that corresponded to reality. Hence, Jesus showed love to His enemies through telling them the truth.
Therefore, we must connect prayer to truth-telling. In telling the truth to hose we perceive as our enemies, we hope to free them from the bondage of their own hypocrisy. As well as the hurt they put on others.
3. Compassion. Jesus sees those who fail to love as bent low under the crushing weight of sin. For us, Rich counsels:
“It means engaging with them from a deeper place of love. This love can’t be mustered by human strength; it comes only from following Jesus in the power of the Spirit.”
Today’s question: Where do you feel you stand in regard to the best measure of spiritual maturity? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Knowledge equals maturity?”