“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”
(Luke 6:27 NASB)
Between Beckley and Princeton there is a billboard which reads, “real christians love their enemies”. In all honesty we can only speculate on the intent of this billboard. We can assume the intent is geopolitical issues or we can assume this is a statement regarding the lack of civility amongst those with differing views; perhaps something entirely different. But I do think this billboard serves to highlight two traps that many followers of Christ fall into.
First, we must be very careful making suggestions concerning some ideal of a real Christian. Kierkegaard reminds us that even though thousand showed an interest in Christ few stayed until the Cross and even fewer made it to the Resurrection. But thanks be to God! The truth of Grace, being something which He bestows, is that there really are no real Christians. Certainly faith brings out Christ likeness, but certainly no concept of the real or authentic can stem from any place other than the Root, nor can we bottle it and keep it for ourselves.
Second, we simply cannot accept that Christ’s love means tolerance or affirmation of evil. Should we tolerate violence toward the vulnerable? Should we affirm abusiveness? Wrong is wrong and allowing evil to persist and not calling it evil is the least loving thing we can do. Let me be clear, Christ meant it when He said “do good to those who hate you”. Diplomacy, acts of kindness, or simply walking away are the tools He would have us to use. What we want to be wary of is not calling evil what it is and telling ourselves that is love.
I use the billboard as a springboard not an argument, as I do not know the real intent. But it has caused me to think about the Word and this might just be the purpose. That said, whether we think ourselves real or authentic beyond our Salvation or we take the easy road and minimize evil as opposed to pursing the hard road of love, we walk the same path as many before us. The Good News is that it is Him that is authentic and it is Him who will bring judgement upon evil.
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