Monday, September 4, 2023
Matthew 5:43-45 (NKJV)
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.”
I think we can all agree—loving your enemy is a very difficult thing to do! It’s hard enough to forgive the people we love when they do something horrible to us, let alone those we consider our enemies. Yes, we are even called to love those Ohio State football fans!
All kidding aside, how can we possibly love people who have hurt us so much? This challenging teaching from Jesus is precisely what Christine Sweeney taught on to close our series, For the Love.
It’s so easy to dismiss someone we strongly dislike, yet Matthew 5:45 reminds us that the sun rises on both good and evil. God loves those who are still sinners, just as he loved us when we were (Romans 5:8). By loving our enemy, we are acting as ambassadors of Christ, as his sons and daughters, demonstrating the love of the Father.
During the message, Christine provided us with a few practical ways to live this out based on Matthew 5:44. She reminded us we are to bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who persecute us.
This is what Jesus did for us by going to the cross, and it is what we are called to do for others. Loving someone like Jesus loves us, even when we feel they have wronged us, albeit challenging, is one of those lessons where both sides win. Our hearts change and grow to become more like Christ’s, and our enemies are recipients of the blessings, prayers, and love we send their way.
I especially liked Christine’s challenge to pray for our enemies for 30 days straight and see if our feelings change at the end of that time. By doing this we can live out this week’s bottom line: When I think less of me, I can love my enemy.
I have someone in mind for this challenge. Do you? Even though I barely know this person, I know he is not a friend. I will pray that he be introduced to Jesus in his life. I hope if he reads this, he will know that I love him, and so does Jesus.
Questions:
How do you feel when you hear, “Love your enemies?” Does anyone come to mind?
Next Steps:
Try the 30-day challenge and see how it makes you feel. Invite someone to church. Enemy or not, they may just need that invite.
Prayer:
Father, allow me to show those who are against me that I love them. I want to love everyone the way you do, but I know there will be times when I fail. Search my heart, and reveal to me how to love difficult people. Guide me in doing what you would have done, not what I want or would choose for myself. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Series Theme Verse:
1 John 4:10-11
10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
This post was written by Casey Stengel, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.