i wouldn't trade my enemies for the world
"Let Me alone, then, that My wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation." —Exodus 32:10
The Lord offered Moses the opportunity to start all over without the bothersome people who fashioned a golden calf and worshiped it. Moses, however, prefigured Jesus and asked God to forgive them and love them.
We all are tempted to be discontent with the people the Lord has put into our lives to love. We wish our spouses were perfect, our children were angels, and our parents were sinless. We sigh: "If only my pastor were a canonized saint and my fellow parishioners were holy, understanding, sensitive, and dedicated!" What if God offered you what He offered Moses! Would you let the Lord remove all your problem-people and leave you with a crossless life of little love?
Jean Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, claimed: "Hell is other people." In fact, other people are not hell. Rather they may be the crosses which we endure on our road to heaven. The person who gives you the most problems can be your best opportunity to love as Jesus loves. Consequently, thank the Lord for your enemies because your enemies may hold your ticket to heaven. Your enemies may provide you the opportunity to become children of God the Father (Mt 5:44-45). Thank the Lord for the gift of your enemies.
Prayer: Father, may I choose a life of maximum love, not maximum pleasure.
Promise: "These very works which I perform testify on My behalf that the Father has sent Me." —Jn 5:36
Praise: St. Isidore of Seville and his brother St. Leander converted the Visigoths.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 28, 2018
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