The Word

Love Your Enemies

🌟 Scriptures 🌟

Matthew 5:43-48

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Mark 10:27

27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."

1 Corinthians 13:13

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

🗣️The Message📜

Thousands of years ago Jesus called us to love our enemies, to actually love them. He called us to love those who persecute us, who hurt us, who anger us, not just to forgive, not just to be kind to, but to love them. Now you may ask, what is Love? 

The Word of God says in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 that

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Then we see in 1st Corinthians that it says,

"13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 

God is Love there isn't Love apart from God, not real love, because of this and because He made us in His wonderful and mighty image, He has called us to not just bear His image but to be edifiers of Him and edifying Him includes loving as He loved. This is a great Honor but we learn that with great power comes great responsibility, and with a great calling comes a great charge. How can a person love someone who killed their child, how can someone love a person who stole from them, how can a person love someone who beat them, who tortured them, who made them feel like nothing, who assaulted them? How can a person love their enemy? How can a person love someone who seems like they won't change, who takes forgiveness for granted? How? How can we be patient with them, how can we be kind to them, how can we not keep their record of wrongs? Well, we are all blessed to have the Word of God, the Words of Jesus that says that all things are possible with God, Mark 10:27. This seemingly impossible task is possible through Christ. But why does He even call us to love our enemies? Why does He call us to do things that are so hard to do? Well, He wants us to embody Him,  for a person to love someone who has wronged them badly is a very righteous thing to do because in that they are embodying Christ. In that, they are denying their flesh and moving in the Spirit. They are embodying love itself. Jesus wants us to deny our old way of thinking, deny our pride, deny the anger we feel, and despite everything to love. He wants us to look past the fault and see the need, He wants us to be a people without hate, a people without strife, a people full of love. Why? So we can truly be free and with that freedom free others. How many people would receive Christ If all of God's people looked beyond their flesh and their feeling and clung to The Lord's Word to Love? Love is natural for those who love God but it's also a challenge because we still live in the world. Are you struggling with truly loving an enemy?  Are you struggling with your pride or with anger? Are you struggling with fear? Are you obeying The Lord's command? If you are having trouble remember Christ said with God all things are possible. Jesus forgave all who sinned on the cross, may we also take up our crosses, no matter how painful and die to our flesh and our old way of thinking so we can be renewed in the Spirit.