Is
friendship a two-way street? Can I choose to be someone's friend,
even in they choose not to return the friendship? To answer this
question I first refer to Jesus on the cross when he forgave those
who crucified him. He remained their friend even though they were
not only unfriendly, but even were his enemy. Without question,
then, it is clear what the disciplines of love require. We are not
only to act in the best interest of others, we are to do so with a
willing heart even when faced with coldness. Since love is genuine
and not merely pro forma or phony, we must remain in a prayerful
attitude requesting of God enabling power to transform the
perceptually induced tit-for-tat reflex of coldness into a redeeming
response of sincere helpfulness. We are to meet slights and even
hatred with forgiveness and love which, by faith, we know is
redemptive. This is without question one of the hardest of all the
disciplines to exercise.
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