43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:43-45 (NKJV)
Loving your enemy. An idea that is so against the workings of this world. This command is a hard teaching and even harder to obey, especially in applying it toward particular people in our lives. Yet, it is what Christ asks of us. I am sure you can think of people in your life who would fit the description of an enemy. For whatever reason, the two of you are opposing forces. Unlike unbelievers who seek to do harm to their enemies, we are asked to do what seems to be impossible, to love them. But wait, there's more! We are to pray for them, ask blessings upon them, and do good to them. Why? So that we may bring glory to God our Father in Heaven. So that we may show the world we are HIS children.
27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Luke 6:26-28 (NLT)
Why? Why should we love our enemies? Because Christ said so. Notice in particular how we are to respond to each action of an enemy. To those who hate us, we are to do good. To those who curse us, we are to bless them. For those who hurt us, we are to pray for them. Our reaction to each evil action is to be Christ honoring and without sin. We are not to answer evil for evil, as the world does.
35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Luke 6:34-36 (NLT)
Christ promises in loving our enemies, our reward from heaven will be very great. And in doing so, we are acting as true children of God, a reflection of His compassionate love for all people. The desire of my heart is that I can love others the way Christ does, a compassionate love for even those who are unthankful and wicked.
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14
One of the hardest things to experience is broken fellowship with another believer. In our eyes, this person might be an enemy. But if they are a Believer, then they, like us, are one of God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved. We were not meant for broken fellowship with one another, but to be unified in the Body of Christ. Paul admonishes us to clothe ourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and above all love. Love is the virtue that binds all of the rest in the believer. These are essential virtues all believers must adhere to live in harmony with one another. We are family, a family who sometimes is impatient with each other. A family who at times fusses and fights. But that's not the way we are to be. We are to be patient with one another, forgiving each other's faults and shortcomings. We are to dearly love one another as the LORD dearly loves us. That's what it means to bear with one another in love. We are to forgive because the LORD has so graciously forgiven us.
Love our enemies. Do good to those who persecute us. Bear with one another, forgiving each other's grievances. Forgive for we have been forgiven!
In His Love, Cathy
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