loving God and loving our enemy

mikeforjesus

Must we have an emotional attraction to God? Maybe not?

(I think maybe we must.. we should love God emotionally as our Father.. right?)

John 14:21 (King James Version)

21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

From
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John 14:21;&version=9;


Matthew 7:21 (King James Version)

21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

From
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 7:21;&version=9;

And do we have to have an emotional feeling of love toward our enemies? or can we just do good to them even if there is no emotional feeling of love?

Some people maybe think if we have an emotional feeling of love to our enemy then the person would not be our enemy..

WMA

Well, I don't know the churches official stance on this, but I thought about this for a few minutes, and the logical conclusion I arrived at was that you could love your enemy.

I don't believe for someone to be your enemy it has to be two way feeling. I believe that John 13:16 supports this statement:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

The gift of Salvation from our Lord is given to all who will accept it. It's not just for those who love God, but for those whom God loves, which is every single person on the world. But the sad truth is, a lot of people on this world [seemingly] don't love God, and a lot there are no doubt some self-confessed enemies of God. This doesn't mean God doesn't love them, nor does it mean he is there enemy. Jesus still died for their sins, and if they choose to turn to the truth, they too can be saved. Not only did God express his love for mankind through loving actions, but it's a real emotion he felt as well, and I believe that this is what we should be striving in feeling towards others as well.

I apologise if I have said anything incorrect or offensive, and hope that I was able to help with my opinion on the matter.


Peace and Blessing,
WMA

Unknown

And do we have to have an emotional feeling of love toward our enemies? or can we just do good to them even if there is no emotional feeling of love?

I don't think that love in this context is primarily concerned with one's emotional disposition. It is more of a practical matter. We love our enemy by assissting them when they need help, feeding them when they are hungry etc. even if we do so with our teeth clenched. Eventually, through the Grace of God, our emotional disposition may ease up a little, such that ultimately we do in fact learn to naturally share that emotional affection towards them, even if they maintain that hostility towards us.

The passions we inherit according to our fallen humanity, even if they be negative, such as anger towards our enemies, are not sins in and of themselves, for as the Apostle Paul commands us, "be angry, but do not sin". The Church teaches us however to control our emotions and passions, and to redirect and refocus that energy towards good i.e. helping our enemies instead of cursing them etc. This is how we in effect love God and our enemies.