With this being the 10th anniversary of 9/11, here are words that I believe are pertinent to remember in our world today:
Let us, as followers of Love Incarnate, Jesus Christ, not define who is and is not our enemy.
Let us start with the foundation of identifying people first as our neighbours. If a person or group wants to identify themselves as our enemies because we are Christ-followers, we can still heed these challenging words of Christ:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:43-48)
Let us, as Christians, not take it upon ourselves to start naming our enemies. We will identify people first as our neighbours, loving them as ourselves. And when they start to label themselves as our enemies, we will continue to love them and pray for them.
What if we lived in such a way as we pursue and proclaim Jesus?
The Prodigal Thought 