Bless Your Enemies

As I sift through old writing, I feel some of the things I wrote 10 years ago were meant for me now. I wrote an article called “Bless Your Enemies” during a season when terrorism was on the rise. Many in my sphere — the prophetic/apostolic movement — were scared and reacting to seeing Christians persecuted and killed. As I engage now in a process of reflection to “transcend and include,” this teaching I shared in 2015 still rings true. In truth, I didn’t listen to my own message.

During that time in my journey, I was in the ethnocentric stage of spiritual growth. I was experiencing incredible healing and transformation with Jesus. But I made the mistake of thinking this healing journey was something God would only give to Christians. Jesus is my healer and redeemer, yes. But Christ is more than a personal savior for a specific people. For scriptural, theological, spiritual, and experiential reasons I’ll share more on later, I’ve come to see my God box was simply too small. I think I always knew it was but I didn’t know how to articulate this truth or live into it. But God was already leading me into a broader place.

Ever since so many in the prophetic movement embraced an authoritarian strongman and political power as a means to transform culture — I believe out of fear — I no longer felt at home in the prophetic stream of evangelical Christianity. I felt unmoored. Again. I’m thankful that God held me and taught me over these years more about contemplative Christianity. He’s helped me to try to live my life out of a simple following of Jesus who said to love God, love your neighbor, and bless your enemies.

Let’s not be like the Pharisee who says “Yes, but who is my neighbor?” to Jesus’ invitation to love (Luke 10:25-29). When you’ve experienced the oneness of God in contemplative practice you know that everyone is your neighbor, even your enemies. The question resolves itself quite naturally.

Today, this writing is showing me how I have been like Jonah — not wanting to speak to the prophetic movement or return home. Not wanting to be involved. I’m preaching to myself. We’re all still growing and learning. We always will be.

The prophetic movement is not my enemy. It is the home in which God healed me and helped me develop my spiritual gifts among dear friends who gave generously of their lives for our community and for me. I would never, ever want to hurt anyone seeking God through the prophetic movement. So I have been silent. I have been afraid. But God is nudging me to share about my journey now.

I feel we are entering a time when Christians here in America who follow Christ’s lead and stand in solidarity with suffering may be persecuted by Christian Nationalists who are now saying that “empathy is a sin.” This way of thinking is a classic, historical precursor to atrocities and has been believed during fearful times throughout the history of the Church — with catastrophic results. It is also antithetical to the way and teaching of Jesus.

Friends, this Lenten season let’s pass over into a broader love that embraces the whole world. This is the work of Christ — to reconcile all things to Himself. He has already done it. It is finished. We just don’t know it or live into it the way Jesus taught us to do. We want to put conditions on God’s reality. But the invitation to love is always open.

God loves us. Let’s love one another.

Read the teaching: Bless Your Enemies - Heather Celoria © 2015