If Only…What If

Luke 6: 27-28 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

If only I could win the lottery… If only the Leafs could win the Stanley Cup… If only people could just get along… If only things could get back to normal… “If only” is what we say when we wish that something unlikely or even impossible will happen. However, “if only” can also be a spark to imagining a better world and the first step in making it a reality, when we change it to “what if”. “What if” creates an opportunity for the impossible to become possible.

In the Bible, Jesus said some stunning things like love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and give without expecting anything in return. “If only” might be our first response to those words, but what if things could be the way Jesus said? What if seeing the humanity of our enemies leads to empathy instead of hatred? What if reconciliation is a better path then retaliation? What if being generous is far more effective than keeping score? When we turn our “if only” into “what if”, our wishes may just become realities.