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| Author: Ese Ehimare Dave |
Topic: Love My Enemies? [Monday, 21st Nov. 2016.]
Matthew 5:44 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. Matthew 5:44
“Did Jesus really mean what He said in the above scripture? Does He not know what these enemies are capable of? Why should I love and pray for someone who wants to stop my progress, and if possible, kill me? After harming or killing me, he will repent and God will forgive him. I have to stop him before he stops me. “Attack is the best form of defense.” I am sure this statement sounds familiar. We sometimes think like this and even pray along this line.
But, Jesus went on to argue that “if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” (Matthew 5:46-47). One of the things that distinguishes a christian from a non-christian is his ability to love, even in the face of obvious hate. Jesus showed us this when He expressed love by dying and praying for His killers. And this is what He wants us to do (Matthew 5:44).
Can we really do this, because it seems to be out of our league? Jesus made sure we could by giving us His mind. Scriptures say in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that “…we have the mind of Christ.” With the mind of Christ, we can think and act just like Christ. He even went further to pour His kind of love in our hearts, by His Spirit (Roman 5:5), and as we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we receive, in abundance, more of His love to express to our enemies, by doing good to them and praying for them.
Keep winning daily.
Prayer:
Dear Holy Spirit, thank You for Your mind which You have given me. Pour in abundance, Your love for me, and help me to express it intensely to my enemies, despite their obvious hate, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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