Taking off the Bumper Stickers

"One of the most fundamental ways that we witness to God's love is we move toward our enemies.  Now, some enemies, if you walk up and give them a big bear hug - that's gonna get awkward.  So, perhaps it begins in your heart with an awareness, 'this person is an enemy and my witness to God's love in the world is directly connected to whether I move toward this enemy or whether I back away - thus creating more distance.'So, perhaps one of the most simple, rubber-meets-the-road ways we witness to the love of Christ is we simply move towards the enemy. 

Now, in some cases, it means we simply stop talking evil of them.  In other cases, it means we take off the bumper stickers.  And by that, I simply mean, sometimes loving your enemies means setting aside the categories you've been given about you and them by your culture.  Sometimes, loving your enemies simply means rejecting the fact that they even are your enemies and rediscovering their humanity. 

Perhaps one of the first ways we witness to God's love for a world that so desperately needs to see it is that we move toward our enemies." 

- Rob Bell

I periodically need to remove the bumper stickers and set aside the categories, remembering the humanity of those who are opposite of myself.