Love Can Overcome Hate

It is not clear when the celebration of Valentine’s Day started, but it is widely accepted now that this is a special day for lovers to express their affection for each other with greetings and gifts. And surely, that is a natural thing to do.

But what about Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount?

"You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
(Matthew 5:43-45)

To love our enemies takes love to a completely different level - one that characterises God himself. It is so difficult that most people would question whether it is even possible for us as human beings.

At Christian Friends of Israel, we do at least join other Christians in praying for our enemies.

But the following interview, posted by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), provides a clear example of loving one’s enemies, and it is far from being the only one in existence today.

CBN’s Raj Nair interviews Saleem Shalash, a Christian pastor in the Israeli town of Nazareth, and he admits:

"I wasn’t a peacemaker. I was the opposite. I grow with a lot of hatred for Israel and the nation of Israel.
I all my dream was to destroy this country and to kill, you know, the Jews. That was my dream.
God is the only one that changed my heart and from that day on I’m living the better life I ever taste in my life."