Love Your Enemies

Matthew 5:43-48 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shall love thy neighbor, and hate your enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (KJV)

Jesus teaches that to be like God, we have to do more than what comes naturally to us. We all love people who are nice to us. But it isn't easy to be nice to those who are mean to you. But that's what God did. He takes care of everyone, and sent His son to die for all, even though they did not all treat Him well.

Jesus says we must love our enemies. What does that mean? Does it mean we must feel affection for them? No, it means that we must treat them as well as we treat people we like. We must be kind and respectful to them. We must put their needs before ours. We must not treat them badly.

The Bible says "a soft answer turns away wrath." (Prov. 15:1) And by being nice to someone, we can bring them to shame. (Prov. 25: 21,22) It is difficult for someone to continue being mean to you if you don't let it get you angry. It takes away their fun in it. So God's advise is not only the better way to handle the situation from His end, but from ours also.

The Great Commission

When Jesus left this world, he commanded us to take the Gospel to the world. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Notice that Jesus commanded “even to the end of the age.” These two verses are often referred to as The Great Commission, and a lot churches in my neck of the woods, and around the rest of the world, are not honoring the Lord’s command to us. This is the greatest single failure of Christians and Christian churches around the globe. The day will come when Jesus will deal with us for ignoring his command to us.

The Great Commission

When Jesus left this world, he commanded us to take the Gospel to the world. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Notice that Jesus commanded “even to the end of the age.” These two verses are often referred to as The Great Commission, and a lot churches in my neck of the woods, and around the rest of the world, are not honoring the Lord’s command to us. This is the greatest single failure of Christians and Christian churches around the globe. The day will come when Jesus will deal with us for ignoring his command to us.