Who is on your enemy list? You know what I mean. What names do you think of when it comes to hate? Is the word hate too strong? How about despise (or dislike very strongly)?

You perhaps don't even know you hate them, but when you see them, hear their name or watch their actions, you feel the rage well up within you. Are you wondering what I mean? Are you thinking, Not me, I don't hate anyone?

Then let me ask you a couple of questions. What do you feel when you think about the men and women who planned the attacks on the World Trade Center? What about the men, women and children who are willing to strap explosives to their bodies and walk into a crowd of innocent people and trigger a switch destroying lives?

Does that seem too far away? What about the names of those who are nightly in the news─ in our own towns and cities─who commit crimes, hurts and devastation through theft, robbery or drug dealing?

Still too far away? Consider the people you work with that have simply drained you of patience. Given a choice, you would remove from your environment. Maybe you don't think you hate them, but you sure don't love them!

Strangely, for many the target of their hate is people they once loved. With the soaring rates of divorce and domestic violence, this appears to be true. Hands that once were clasped in a loving embrace form fists and take vengeful action. Hate broils in words and thoughts that spill out into hurtful decisions.

Don't be bothered by the length of your enemy list. The longer the better. Include the names of leaders of other nations or religious persuasions. We need a long enemy list. Anyone else need to be included? Does your list include neighbours, workmates, the person who got the promotion instead of you?

Now listen to the words of Jesus: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (see Matthew 5:44). Love your enemies … pray for them. That's the command of Jesus as he teaches those gathered around him. It is counter-cultural for his listeners as they possessed very different thoughts and standards. They had grown up with the standard of loving neighbours and hating enemies. We are familiar with that same standard.

But Jesus presents a new standard: to love and to pray for those we hate. So let's get out the enemy list. Start at the top and work your way down. Let's pray for each one. What might happen? The first thing is that we will begin to see those individuals as humans with their own circumstances. We will begin to glimpse their hurts, their struggles. We can pray for their families and loved ones and that they might know God's love. We can also pray that we might know God's love and have it flow through our lives to those who share this journey on the earth.

We should ask God to help us see that Jesus died for everyone. Just as he died for us, he died for those who do not understand God's love. He died for those on your enemy list and mine.

Major Fred Waters is an Area Commander in the Prairie & Northern Territories Division. Edmonton and the north is his perspective presently on family, friends and ministry. Fred enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and gardening. Together with his wife, Wendy, he has shared in the experiences of youth ministry, corps officership and administration.