When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, He understands that that’s the only way to break the cycle of violence. Miroslav Volf captures this precisely in his book The End of Memory:
To triumph fully, evil needs two victories, not one. The first victory happens when an evil deed is perpetrated; the second victory when evil is returned. After the first victory, evil would die if the second victory did not infuse it with new life. (page 9)
May you and I stop infusing new life into the wrongs committed against us, learning instead to love those who hurt us with the love God give us even though we hurt Him with our sins. That’s the way to peace.
–