MATTHEW 5:44 KJV
Aaron and Abbey had been happily married for nearly a year when Aaron bought Abbey a “present” she never wanted: a great big Chow puppy with paws the size of baseballs.
“Aaron, darling,” Abbey said with conviction, “dogs and I are natural enemies. We just don’t get along!”
“But Abs!” Aaron used his pet name for her hoping to soften her up, “You’ll get used to him.” It was pretty clear to them that the puppy was really a present for Aaron.
“Pup,” as he came to be called, won an uneasy spot in their household. Determined that the dog should understand his place as her enemy, Abbey silently launched a campaign against him.
I say unto you, Love your enemies.
MATTHEW 5:44 KJV
Pup sensed her resistance and reciprocated for a while by stealing towels, tearing up shoes and furniture, and carrying off whatever small object Abbey was using the minute she turned away. He completely ignored her attempts to correct him. So went Pup’s first year in the family.
Then one day Abbey noticed a change in Pup’s approach. To her astonishment, he began greeting her joyously each time she came home, nudging her hand and licking her fingers in a friendly “hello.” Whenever she had to feed him, he sat for a moment and gazed at her adoringly before he began eating. To top it off, he began accompanying her on her early morning walks, staying close at her side to ward off other dogs as she walked down their deserted road.
Little by little, Pup loved Abbey into a humbling truce. Today, Abbey says that Pup’s persistence has taught her a lot about loving her enemies. She says Pup is winning—but don’t tell Aaron.31
Is there someone you know—perhaps even someone in your own family—who needs an expression of your love, rather than your resistance?
We should conduct ourselves
toward our enemy as if he were
one day to be our friend.
CARDINAL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN