Love our Enemies – Matthew 5:44

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Upon learning of the dire situation of someone who had harmed me, I committed to pray daily for the Lord, in His loving-kindness, to intervene.[1]  I would be disingenuous if I did not admit that my commitment was lukewarm at first.  I found myself skimming over this item on my prayer list and sometimes skipping it outright, for the thought of contributing to the Lord’s blessing on one who had deliberately, callously become my enemy ran into the remnants of my bitterness.

As weeks passed and I prayed on, the light of God’s mercy to me led me into mercy,[2] and I began to beseech the Lord to shower His blessings upon this broken situation and to heal the open wounds.  As my hardened heart changed, I began to desire that the Spirit would reveal Jesus Christ in all His glory, so the one who was lost would receive Him and experience joy in His presence.[3]  Gloriously, as I, though imperfectly, obeyed God’s Word to love the person who had harmed me,[4] the Lord, in His unfathomable economy, used my obedience to soften my heart and increase my joy.

Although others sin against you, trampling on your heart and piercing your soul, obey God’s holy and perfect Word to love your enemies and to pray for them.  Respect and honor them, for God made them in His image.[5]  Ask the Lord to forgive them just as we have received His forgiveness although we have likely made ourselves the enemies of others by wounds we inflicted.[6]  Have an empathetic, compassionate heart toward them, realizing that they, as you, have deep flaws and severe areas of spiritual blindness.  Apart from the Lord’s grace, not one of us could stand.[7]

Look intently into God’s perfect law. Walk in it, and you will behold the glory of God.  Stand watching as walls of anger crumble, rivers of hatred dry up, and hearts of steel melt.  In awe, observe as the Lord rains down blessings that flow from your obedience.[8]  In Christ, love others, including those hardest to love, and the Lord will lead you higher, closer to Himself, giving you ever-increasing liberty to love others as Christ loves you.[9]

[1] Proverbs 24:29

[2] Luke 6:36

[3] Psalm 21:6-7

[4] Luke 6:27-28

[5] 1 Peter 2:17

[6] Romans 3:23-24

[7] Psalm 130:3

[8] Genesis 22:18

[9] James 1:25