Love…Who?

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, ‘Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.’” Matthew 5:43-44

Loving your neighbor can be a tall order sometimes. After all, our neighbor isn’t always lovable. But then again, neither are we. Jesus tells us that we are to love not only our neighbor, but even our enemies. Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? Who loves like that? God does. And if we are going to act as true children of our Father in heaven, we need to love like that as well. 

How is that even possible? How do I love someone who has broken my trust? There is a difference between loving and trusting. If someone has hurt or betrayed you and asks for your forgiveness, should you forgive them? Love says yes. Should you trust them? No. Forgiveness is a mandate of Christ. Jesus said: How often shall we forgive them? Seven times? No, seventy times seven. Forgiveness is free, but trust is something to be earned. 

Still, loving enemies does not come easily or naturally to human beings. What motivates you to love those who have wronged you? Romans 5:10 says, “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.” God saved you while you were still his enemy. 

When you love others while they are your enemies, when you pray for those who persecute you, you are saying to the world, “I can forgive because I have been forgiven.” You are acting as a true child of your Father who is in heaven