“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, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:43-45a
Christians, by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we must deprogram every natural instinct and all our cultural training and instead learn to love and pray for our enemies and those opposed to Christ, to the church, and to us. When persecuted or humiliated, our answer can’t be thoughts of revenge. When slandered, our response can’t be more lies. Our actions, words, and even our innermost thoughts need to be Christ-like, not human.
This is unbelievably important. Note well those last few words, that we must love our enemies and pray for them, “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Do you understand the profound significance of what Jesus is saying here???
To be a son of God is to be saved. If we aren’t being conformed and transformed into the likeness of Jesus Who absolutely loved and prayed for His enemies, then it means we aren’t saved. Loving and praying for our enemies won’t save us, but if we’re saved, we should be growing in our capacity to love our enemies. Period.
Take time to reflect on your own heart. Do you truly love your enemies? Do you faithfully pray for your them? Are you harboring deep anger, bitterness, rage, contempt, or hatred for others? If you are, you need to confess that to God and then battle every day to kill those sinful feelings. Refusing to fight this battle indicates a deep soul sickness that must be dealt with before it’s too late.