God allows the same mercy and love to be given to the just and the unjust, the kind and the wicked, and those who strive for goodness and those who don't.  Honestly, loving those who have hurt me or mistreated me is not something I do well.  How can we love someone who tramples our dignity because we are considered too old, not worthy, not the right skin color, not wanted, not good enough, or an easy target?  How can we love someone who hurts us so profoundly that we can barely face another day?  It is not easy.  It leaves us feeling that there is no justice for the one who has felt persecuted.  However, maybe God doesn't require us to forget our hurts.  God might just be asking us to consider love as a point of healing for ourselves and others.  God might be asking us to consider freeing ourselves from the bondage of hate and pain so we can rest.  Yes…... I want to rest.

So, to all those who have ever put me down and kicked me while I was down, I pray for you.  To all those who called me ugly at one point or another, I pray for you.  To all those whose words and actions tore into my soul and left me wondering if there was still goodness in the world, I pray for you.  I will try to love you by God's grace, but till then, I will pray for you.  My prayers will be from a good place, not because I am righteous but because I am a child of God and I have chosen love.  It is true for most of us that loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us doesn't come as easy as we would like.  However, could I really say that I observe and keep God's commandments with all my heart and soul if I pick and choose the most convenient commandments to follow and ignore the rest?  Am I really walking in God’s ways and listening to God’s voice if I decide that I have been hurt too badly or persecuted too often to make room for much-needed prayer for the offenders?  Can I really hold my head up high and rest comfortably in God’s love if I cannot see those who have hurt me in any way as lovable and as children of God too?  Do they not also bear the face of God?

Yes, some of God’s children are naughty, to say the least, but I know that I am not always the just one, the good one, the forgiving one, the understanding one.  Even though I try to live out my baptism and try my best to be a good person each day, I could also end up being someone's enemy or even persecuting another for any number of reasons, especially out of fear or pain.  When I find myself in that dark place with the role of “enemy” or “persecutor,” I know I would crave love and mercy, even though it is undeserved.  I know that my soul would long for prayers from anyone who would make room and see fit to forgive me and love me anyway.

Merciful God, we pray that those who have hurt us in whatever way may receive your mercy.  Amen.