Love Your Enemies

Chuckle: "When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried!"

Quote: "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." --Martin Luther King

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

Jesus said: "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven . . . If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors (sinners) do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect (mature), even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:43-47 NLT).

At the time of Jesus' ministry here on earth, the Jewish people were oppressed under the rule of the Romans. Now imagine yourself in their place -- and along comes Jesus to tell God's people to love their enemies. Obviously such teaching could not be accepted by everyone and many turned away from Jesus. Probably, their biggest problem was dealing with the definition of love from Jesus' point of view. They thought He was telling them to have warm and fuzzy emotional feelings of affection for their oppressors/enemies. But, in reality, Jesus was talking about an act of the will. In the same way God despises sin but loves the sinner, we are to love our enemies even though we may detest their actions. If you can understand this, then you will have much less difficulty dealing with the concept of loving your enemies.

It takes a conscious effort and submission of will to love those who mistreat you and always act with their own best interests in mind. We can pray for them, and think of ways to make their lives better. Jesus had this attitude toward everyone, even though people hated Him, persecuted Him, and even crucified Him. As the Roman soldiers were killing Him, and people stood around with approving looks, Jesus said from the cross: "Father, forgive them for the do not know what they are doing." We are to follow His example of unconditional love and forgiveness. Jesus never stops loving us no matter how much we rebel against His love and ignore His invitation to accept Him by faith for forgiveness of our sins.

What about the last sentence in our passage? "But you are to be perfect (mature), even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Jesus is telling his followers, and us, that we are to be different. We are to become perfect or mature Christians as we allow God's Holy Spirit to give us a spiritual makeover. As we allow Him to mold us and shape us into the likeness of Christ, we will display these marks of maturity:

(1) In character: Here on earth we will never become flawless, but we can strive to become more like Christ every day we live. (2) In holiness: We are to be submissive to God's desires rather than our own and carry His love and mercy into the world -- even to those who hurt us. (3) In maturity: Achieving Christ-like character and holy living does not happen overnight, but is a growth process over a lifetime of Christian service. (4) In love: We can learn to love others as completely as God loves us -- even our enemies.

Love, Jerry & Dotse