Forgiveness

Matthew 5:43 - 48
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your friends, hate your enemies.' But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the children of your Father in Heaven. For He makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans* do that! You must be perfect - just as your Father in Heaven is perfect."
*Note: Pagan in this text refers to people who have not read/heard the Gospel, and is not a reference to neopaganism.

Now that's a double barrel shot, aint it? How can one love their enemies if they surely don't wish to be loved by you? Such a standing requires some of the bravery Ghandi was talking about when he said, "love is for the brave". Whether such bravery comes from the Holy Spirit, some internal mustering or elsewhere, such bravery is required to love others and forgive them. Later in the same sermon Jesus explains this;

Matthew 6:9-15
"This, then, is how you should pray:
'Our Father in heaven:
May your holy name be honoured;
may your kingdom come;
may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need.
Forgive us the wrongs we have done,
as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
Do not bring us to hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.'
If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in Heaven will also forgive you. But is you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done."

So we are charged to love and forgive others as a consequence of love to seek salvation, because how can one claim to love God if one cannot love their neighbour? From 1 John 4:19 - 21

We love because God first loved in us. If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen. The command that Christ has given us is this: Whoever loves God must love others also.

So love we must, and we can even draw strength from those around us if we need it. We all struggle, but together we are stronger and better for it.