How many enemies do you have? We may not have a nemesis or be at war with another, but there are folks that we just find it incredibly difficult to deal with. There are even times when the enemies for a season seem to be the ones closest to us. Walking in newness of life involves actually loving our enemies. Some things come so hard against our nature that we can easily just try to pass them over for another day. In Matthew 5:44, we read the words of Jesus, from the Sermon On the Mount, about loving the enemies that appear in our lives.
"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,"
So, He gives us a list of our enemies (those who curse us, hate us, spitefully use us, persecute us) and also a practical list of how to love them (love, bless, do good to, pray for).
But why? Why would we do this that goes so forcefully against the grain of what the world tries to teach us? Because of His great love for us. We need only to know His Truth from Romans 5:8, "God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Harold Myra wrote that, as God's beloved, "He wants us to hear these words with tenderness and force so that they reverberate in every aspect of our beings: 'You are the beloved."
We also love our enemies for another vitally important reason. He commanded us to, there in Matthew 5:44. Believe me, obedience is always the best road to travel. But we also love our enemies because of our growing love for God as we mature in knowing Him better.
So when you inevitably deal with the enemies of life at any given moment: when the stones fly, and they're aimed at you, pray " Forgive them Father, they know not what they do."
If anyone comes to mind today as an enemy in any way, we can commit to pray for them and then decisively act by loving and extending forgiveness before another moment passes us by.
A simple prayer:
Father in Heaven, I want to sense that I am truly your beloved, and I open my arms and heart to you. I do this so that I may also both love my enemies and take advantage of opportunities to share your great love with them. In the matchless name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
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