Attendees: Hsaio Gong (seminary student from Shanghai)

Paul Hsu (seminary student from Beijing)

Helen (accountant from Shanghai)

Lieu, Lily (accountant from China)

Yuan, Zhiming (OCM editor, from Beijing)

Joanna Su (OCM editor, from Taiwan)

Moo See (UCLA student, from Shanghai)

Liao, Wenlee (minister, Yale Univ. Ph. D. in Biochemistry)

Zhou,Yuanyuan (writer, from Nanjing, also called Ning Zi)

Questions: Why did Jesus ask us to love our enemies? What would enable us to love our enemies?

Shiao Gong: Through the Bible, God tells us that He is love. In the Four Gospels we witness how Jesus loved sinners such as tax collectors and prostitutes. He healed the lame and opened the eyes of the blind. In the end He was crucified on the cross. We can say that our sins had a part in sending Him to the cross. We actually are His enemies. But He loves us instead.

Contrary to human beings’ selfish and conditional love, God's love is unconditional and sacrificial. By nature we love those related to us, but it is difficult for us to love those who are not like us, let alone to love sinners. Confucius once said that as a man, he had the desire to love yet was lacking the ability to love. A saint like him still had this shortcoming, let alone ordinary people like us. We love because we want to be loved. However there is hope. That is, when our natural love is connected to the ultimate love of God, our natural love is able to transcend our selfish boundary and love our enemies.

My sister came to the United States eight years ahead of me. She applied for my family's immigration to the States without my brother-in-law's awareness. Later he was so furious that he threatened to kill my whole family. My heart was filled with hatred when all this happened.

In desperation we went to church, and we experienced a kind of love that we never knew before. Ever since, I and my wife have constantly gotten on our knees to pray for my brother-in-law. Every time I called him, he would hang up on me. But there is joy and hope in my heart, for I pray and believe that someday I will be able to give testimony to my brother-in-law.

Paul Hsu: My family suffered great persecution during the Cultural Revolution. My mother was persecuted to death and my wife lost one of her eyes. I was transferred to the remote border province of the country. My heart was filled with hatred.

Later as I was preparing to be baptized into the Lord in this country, my greatest struggle was to release my hatred against my enemies. The brother who led me to the Lord told me that I should forgive my enemies before being baptized. I said, "I understand the teaching, but it is impossible for me to love them. Is it good enough that I do not curse them?" The answer was no. So my baptismal service was postponed.

It was a painful period while I waited for my baptism. I cried almost every day. One day the brother asked me, "Have you ever thought about the good will that God had for you in those tribulations?" This really prompted me to think. It was through all the trials and difficulties that I was humbled and came to respond to the call of God. Was it not the good will of God? On the cross Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Helen: I am not a Christian, but I wish everyone had the kind of love that Christians have. I have experienced Jesus’ love through a Christian couple who not only provided me a ride for my job interview, but also gave me their used car.

However, I still do not understand why we should love our enemies and how in the world we could love them.

Joanna Su: I would like to share a true story. Decades ago, in a small town in Pennsylvania, a Christian couple lost their only son because of a young drunk driver. Though they were sorrow stricken, they knew their son was with the Lord for he had known Him. With sorrow they went to the jail to visit the young man who had killed their son. They found out he was from a broken family and had never received true love. They decided to visit him daily and share the gospel with him. Eventually they adopted him as their son. The young man was greatly touched. Not only did he become a Christian, but later dedicated himself to full time ministry. This young man did not receive love from his own family, but received perfect love from the family who because of him lost their beloved son. I think this is a very good example of "love your enemies".

Zhou, Yuanyuan: We who are fallen men are constantly struggling between love and hatred. This is one of the sources of suffering. God teaches us to love our enemies. He teaches us this so that we can be set free and be blessed. When we hate someone, our heart would not be at peace even if we killed that person. The only way for us to be set free from the bondage of hatred is to love the one we hate.

Liao, Wenlee: In other religions love and hate are often mentioned together. However in Christianity, love and sin often appear in the same discourse. It is possible for us to die for the one we love, but it is not possible for us to die for sinners. Jesus however, died on the cross to cleanse our sins.

Moo See: In the secular world, love is a positive emotion while hatred is a negative one. If someone is facing one’s enemy and in an adverse situation can still maintain this positive emotion, he will be victorious. Neither any human being, nor any circumstances, will be able to defeat him.

Yuan, Zhiming: There is a story about two men. One joined the Communist army and the other joined the Nationalist army. They were fighting against each other fiercely. One day they found out they were actually brothers. They held each other and cried bitterly. Similarly, we are very like these brothers. Often times we treat each other as enemies. But there will come a time when we realize we all received life from one Father. If we recognize this fact, it will be much easier for us to love one another.

Lieu, Lily: As a non-believer, I used to think the love that Christianity talks about was unrealistic. Later, the unselfish love demonstrated by some Christians helped me to believe in the existence of God. I realized that it was God's love toward them that enabled them to love others. One day, when I heard an American pastor pray in Chinese, I decided to accept the Lord as my Savior. God's love became real to me. I no longer take for granted the beautiful sunshine, fresh air and my home and family. I give thanks to God for all of these. I also experienced that when I followed God's teaching, such as to forgive or love my enemies, I enjoyed peace and joy. Thus life is full of joy, hope and vitality.

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Ms. Cai is an editor of Overseas Campus Magazine.