Devotional Thought of the Day:
⁴³  “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your friends, hate your enemies.’ ⁴⁴  But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵  so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:43-45a (TEV)

174    Don’t say, “That person bothers me.” Think: “That person sanctifies me.”

It may be a political figure, stoked by the internet gossip that reports and interprets what he is doing.

It may be that guy who cut you off on the freeway.

It may even be that church leader, either in your congregation or perhaps in your denomination.

It could be someone much closer, a family member, a best friend, even your spouse.

It might be me.

Everyone has someone who can irritate them to the point where the frustration dominates their life. We may be ticked off, or hurt.  It may be for a few minutes or a few hours, or if the adversary is irritating, a week or a month or a lifetime.

We would love to “fix” them, we would love to see them change, or if not, to just leave them alone.  We might even think our life would be better without them.  I’ll tell you a secret,

We need them!

We need their irritation, even their persecution.  We need them to teach us how to love them, how to care for them, how to listen.

For St Josemaria is correct, they are part of our sanctification!  

Part of their role in our lives is to make us holier, to cause us to be closer and closer to God.  For it is only as we see them as He sees them, that we will find the strength, the courage, to power to love them, to minister to them. To reveal to them the healing power of the love that we find, when we see Jesus.

That is why we are urged to pray to Him, that God would intercede in their lives. This is why we love them, for they (should) drive us closer to Jesus.  As we abide in Christ, we find the peace from which we can minister to them. He gives us the assurance that allows us to sacrifice for them, no matter whether it is our time, our money or even our lives.

I am preaching on 1 John 3 this weekend, where the Apostle hears the Holy Spirit telling us that we should love as Christ did, that we should minister to those in need, who lack what we have. The context is physically, but it works emotionally, mentally and spiritually as well.  But we only find that ability, as we live in Christ.  As we embrace the discomfort, for their sakes, for God’s glory. If we trust God, we encounter Christ as we encounter those who irritate us.  Amazing this Lord of ours!

It is a challenge, but it is what we are called to… so it is time do our job.

May God reveal His work in you, as you minister to them…. and may His peace, which is beyond our imagination, guard our hearts and minds, as we follow in His steps.

Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Location 534). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.