1 Corinthians 13:13 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." This is the famous verse about love. But what about our enemies? Are we to love them too?
Yes! Jesus says in Matthew 5:44, "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Jesus also says in Luke 6:27, "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you."
My pastor in a recent sermon talked about how he read the Matthew 5:44 passage to a group of high school students long ago, and one of the students yelled out "GET OUT OF HERE!" after he read that passage. I love that! It's not natural to us to love our enemies, and yet that is what we are called to do.
Sometimes I feel that way too and struggle to remember Jesus' words and call for us to love all people, even our enemies. Doing a Step 4 can really help us see all people, even people who have hurt us, as loved children of God who we are called to love and forgive. This step followed by action is very helpful in giving us the peace we need to stop overeating.
Is there anyone you need to forgive? Start by praying for them every day for two weeks. You will see God's strength and power through forgiveness.
To read more about the Christ-centered 12 steps, you can purchase my book "12 Steps to Recovery from Overeating" on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/b59l7hh