Seriously, Love My Enemies?

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 sons of your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:43-45

Wow. Love your enemies? Are You serious, God? How can You expect me to love my enemies? I mean, they are my enemies.

Jesus told us to love our enemies, but He took it to another level by telling us to pray for those who persecute us. How in the world does God expect me to love my enemies and then to pray for them?

Well, that’s the point. He doesn’t expect us to love our enemies and pray for them by our own power. The world tells us to hate our enemies. We simply cannot rely on the world to give us accurate information or directions. Without fail, the world is going to give us bad advice. Our power to love our enemies and pray for them comes from the very presence of Christ in our lives. If we are not filled with the Holy Spirit, we simply cannot love others as we should, whether it be our loved ones or our enemies. In order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must have the presence of Christ in our hearts. It is through Him that we can love as we are commanded. And sometimes, even with that, we still miss the mark.

I have to be honest and say there are some people that I don’t want to love. Some people are just not very loveable. Do you know anyone like this? There are people in our lives who have hurt us deeply. Quite simply, these people are not very loveable and I have no desire to love them, much less pray for them. How do we overcome this attitude? We must rely on the strength of the presence of Christ in our lives. It is through Him that we love. We must ask the Father to help us to love as He loves. Are you loving your enemies and praying for them? Ask the Father now to help you do this.

Father, Your Word tells us to love our enemies and to pray for them. I must confess that this is not easy, Lord. Help me to love others as You love them. In Jesus’ name, amen.