The person who hurt you was hurt by someone who was hurt by someone hurt by someone hurt by someone hurt by s.... It is a long never ending chain of hurt.
As a Child of God, you can't continue the chain. Instead the Lord requires you to break the chain of hurt. With love. His Love. He says the buck must stop with you. He commands you to love your neighbour as yourself. To do good to those who persecute you.
A chain of love starts from that point when you choose to love instead of hurting back. The next person you meet experiences your love and passes it on forwards. The person who hurt you, when given love in return - takes the love back the chain of hurt. And backwards the love goes till it reaches the very start of the chain. Changing hurt to love.
Beloved, you are personally connected to every single person in the Universe. The pandemic was a strong reminder of that. If the virus could travel from one end of the earth to the other, then so can hurt. And yet, so can Love!
This is the Lord's Word on Love:
John 15:12: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
John 15:10: "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His Love."
John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends"
Here the word life goes beyond its literal meaning to also stand for one's dignity, pride, accomplishments, respect, honour, significance, equality, recognition etc.
The Lord says let us put all of these down, in order to keep His commandment of Love. The call is for us not to distance ourselves from those who hurt us, but to Love them instead. To forgive them. To put down anger, bitterness or contempt caused by the injury done to us by others.
His Love conquers all. If we abide in Him, we will abide in His Love. And His Love will accomplish His commandment through us. The irony of it all! Of course, He alone is able to love! Yet He takes joy in loving through us. Through our very feeble selves.
Oh Lord open our eyes to your wondrous truths and the treasures of Your heart.
Oh God grant us the wisdom to understand and the grace of obey.
May it be so in Jesus' Name. Amen.
