Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
This is definitely a tough one. Every day I see the evil of abortion and the harm it does. I see the heartache and pain so many experience. The fact that I should be praying and even loving someone who does abortions is a tough lesson to swallow. That is, in human terms.
How can God expect me to love someone who kills unborn, sometimes viable babies and causes so much heartache to their mothers and fathers? How can God love someone like that Himself? Or what about all the pro abortion people passing laws that continue to kill unborn babies and their refusal to pass legislation to protect both them and their mothers? How about those who may have forced me to abort?
No, I just cannot do it. I cannot love them. But I think that is the point. I am incapable of such love, but Christ in me can love them. He can teach me. It’s not that He ever expects me to accept their actions or think what they are doing it right. The actions are evil. But He does expect me to love them by praying for their conversion.
He has done it before. Look at Bernard Nathanson, http://www.aboutabortions.com/Confess.html or Norma McCorvey, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma_McCorvey or Carol Everett, http://www.prolifeaction.org/providers/everett.htm or one of the many others who promoted abortion and now have had conversions. Better yet, look at me, who lived a life of sin.
My aunt used to tell me how when I was far from the church she prayed for me every day. I think of those persistent prayers as one of the sources of my conversion.
The next time we find ourselves wanting to judge or get angry with someone, let us offer a prayer for their conversion, and ours, that we may all love the way Jesus asks us to.
