Matthew 5:44-45
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (NIV)

If your house is anything like mine you’re currently celebrating Christmas in July. It may be against your will but Hallmark Christmas movies are playing from sunrise to sunset! If you're not celebrating Christmas in July, let me tell you the plot of every Hallmark Christmas movie. A woman leaves the big city to return to her small town where everyone looks like a catalog model and is nicer than Mr. Rogers. The woman is dating the wrong man and through a series of unfortunate circumstances, she realizes the right man was right in front of her all along. After he saves her from the unfortunate circumstances, they declare their love for each other in front of a twinkle-light-covered tree while snow blankets them and they kiss.

While my wife can’t get enough of these Christmas stories, one of my favorite Christmas stories took place just 5 months after the outbreak of World War I on Christmas Day 1914. On the frontlines of the war in Belgium on late Christmas Eve, British troops heard carols being sung from the trenches of the German troops opposite the battlefield. As the German troops lined their trenches with lanterns and small fir trees, each verse of “Silent Night" that was raised up in German was met with a verse in English from the British troops. A song about the gospel of peace compelled warring infantries to exchange lyrics instead of bullets.

After exchanging messages, the following morning the opposing troops met in the center of the battlefield in an area known as “No Man’s Land”. They embraced each other, took photographs, exchanged gifts including food and drink, and eventually played a few rounds of football (soccer) together. They even helped bury each other's dead. By the close of December 26th, 1914, the “Christmas Day Truce” forever left its mark on history. The message that a savior was born compelled thousands of young men in the midst of war not to see their enemies through a lens of polarization, but rather through a lens of cooperation, if even just for a day to bury the dead.

Tuesday’s Reflection

We find written in Proverbs 25:21-22 that “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” Brad Henry, the former Governor of Oklahoma stated, “There is too much at stake for us to surrender to the politics of polarization.” Are you surrendering to the politics of polarization or are you surrendering to the Lord? How are you treating your enemy? I implore you today to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.