Carl Pollard
When we hear the word “enemy,” we tend to think of somebody extreme, like a terrorist, a criminal, or someone actively trying to destroy us. But most of us have enemies in a much more ordinary sense.
An enemy might be someone who embarrassed you, lied about you, betrayed your trust, or hurt your family. It might even be someone you secretly enjoy seeing fail because of how they’ve treated you.
Jesus gave us an incredibly difficult command, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
This command would be easier if Jesus just told us to leave our enemies alone. But He tells us to LOVE them! But the question is, what does that actually look like?
First, it means praying for people who have wronged us. While Jesus was being crucified, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Stephen prayed for the very people stoning him (Acts 7:60). It’s difficult to sincerely pray for someone’s salvation while secretly hoping for their destruction.
Second, it means loving people who don’t deserve it. Jesus reminds us that God sends sunlight and rain on the righteous and unrighteous alike (Matthew 5:45). God shows goodness every day to people who curse His name. Our natural instinct is to treat people according to how they treat us. Jesus teaches us to treat people according to the character of our Father.
Romans 5:10 says, “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” At one point, WE were the enemies!
God didn’t wait for us to become lovable before demonstrating His love. Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
So here’s the question for you. Is there someone you would struggle to see God forgive? Someone whose salvation would bother you because of what they’ve done?
Sometimes our greatest struggle isn’t believing God will forgive us. It’s accepting that He’s willing to forgive them.
Jesus doesn’t ask us to call our enemies good. He asks us to do good to our enemies.
We love our enemies because our Father loved His.
