Enemies...

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."--Matthew 5:43-44.  Jesus, taking people's relationship with their enemies to a whole new level.  Here, Jesus tells us a familiar command which is in two parts, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.

Enemies.  Whether we choose to realize it, we all have enemies.  We might not call them that but we all have those people in our lives that we just seem to constantly be at odds with for whatever reason.  It might be something as simple as a personality difference or you just don't get along for any given reason. The question we need to ask ourselves in light of Matthew 5:43-44 is what do we do when we encounter our "enemies"?

Enemies.  Well we already know Jesus tells us to love our enemies but how do we do that?  Or more to the point, why should we do it?  I will attempt to answer these two questions and we will also look also at why we should pray for those who persecute us as our enemies may be these very people.

Love your enemies.  When I have looked at the concept of loving our enemies in the past, I thought it meant not much more beyond simply turning the other cheek.  However, while taking another look at this verse, there is more to loving our enemy than simply tolerating them.  Loving our enemies is more practical in nature than that.  Proverbs 25:21-22 tells us that if we are kind to our enemy we will heap burning coals on his head.  Every time I read this verse I am reminded of the old adage "Kill them with kindness."  The beautiful thing about loving our enemies is that if we put forth enough effort, we may quickly find that our enemy soon becomes our friend.  While this may be true this still begs the question, why?  Why should we love our enemies? Well aside from the command, our motivation should also be the fact that you and I were also enemies of God.  If we have  obeyed the gospel, we have gone from being enemies of God to being children of God.  God loved His "enemies" enough to send His Son to die for their (our) sins.  If nothing else, that should be our primary motivation to love our enemies.  But what about praying for those who persecute us?

Those who persecute us.  As faithful Christians, persecution in some form or fashion is a guarantee (2 Timothy 3:12).  While I can't claim I have suffered persecution anywhere near to the extent the early Christians did, I have had to put up with more minor forms.  What I mean for example is being ridiculed for standing up for what God says to us through His Word.  But I still choose to pray for these people.  Do not be discouraged if you are ever persecuted for your faith.  Pray for those who persecute you.  When we face discouragement from persecution, remember that Paul was one of the greatest persecutors of the church and if he could be converted, there is a chance for everyone.

In conclusion, my encouragement to you is this.  If there is someone you consider your enemy, I challenge you to go out of your way to perform some random act of kindness for them such as going out to lunch with them or offering to help them in some way.  This can go a long way.  Furthermore, continue to pray for those who persecute you because you never know, they might convert through your efforts or those of another.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!