“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
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.” –
Matthew 5:43-45 NIV
By looking in worldly views, of-course hating our enemies makes
sense. However, since we are God’s children (1
John 3:1) and citizens of heaven (Philippians
3:20-21, 2 Corinthians 5:1), we ought to love our enemies and pray for them
regardless how evil they have done to us, for the word of God states:
Do not repay evil with evil or
insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to
this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever
would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their
lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must
seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are
on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of
the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Who is going to harm you if you are
eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what
is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be
frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to
give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the
hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a
clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good
behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if
it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1
Peter 3:9-17)
Like what 1
Peter 3:9 states, we are going to be blessed in the future, for the word of
God says:
Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are
persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult
you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same
way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew
5:9-12)
Hence, we must let the peace and the word of God to rule in
our hearts with gratitude. (Colossians
3:15-16), for the Bible says, “Consider
it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because
you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
(James
1:2-4) These are the why apostle Paul has had said:
Now I rejoice in what I am
suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to
Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have
become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of
God in its fullness--the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations,
but is now disclosed to the Lord's people. (Colossians
1:24-26)
However, the commission from Jesus was not only for Paul,
but it was continuing progress for every believer who was in Christ, that is
happening forever. In other words, it is our great mission as well. The commission from Jesus to every believer
is:
All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age. (Matthew
28:18-20)
Therefore, let’s love our enemies as well even though it is
hard (John
15:18-25), for the word of God states:
Dear friends, let
us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born
of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is
love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son
into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our
sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No
one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love
is made complete in us.
This is how we know that we live in
him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit… If anyone acknowledges that
Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and
rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love
lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so
that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like
Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear
has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us.
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever
does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God,
whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God
must also love their brother and sister. (1
John 4:7-21)
I believe we could surely pray for our enemies before God,
who is our heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6 NIV), but loving them is quite hard.
Hence, this is our continuing lesson for us; we must have heavenly-minded,
instead of worldly one, if we know that we are fully devoted and surrendered
before God. This is because the word of God states:
Dear friends, remember what the
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last
times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These
are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not
have the Spirit.
But you, dear friends, by building
yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep
yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to
bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt; save
others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with
fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (Jude 1:17-23 NIV)
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