“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet (1807-1882)

Would that be the case if I really knew my enemies? Would that make me understand the reason for them being my enemy? Would it make their hatred for me acceptable or tolerable? Or should only their present matter, and how God is asking me to interact with them right now? In order for me to love someone am I required to know why they are the way they are? No. God calls me to love, not to understand in earthly terms the history of another. Let my enemies know me, right now, as a child of God and then allow God to work in them through me, that their hearts may be changed.

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
— Luke 6:34-36

The bigger question is who are my enemies? My understanding of that question is much different sitting here at my computer in Bellingham than if I was living or visiting a land where I was challenged due to the color of my skin, or the nation of my origin, or because of my religious beliefs. May God grant me a heart and eyes to see my enemies at all times, and grant me the courage to be His child in the face of seen and unseen danger. The gift of discernment, for I am so blind.

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
— Joshua 1:8-9