Afternoon Y'all! I pray this post encourages you and gives God glory! Got suggested topics you want me to write about? Please comment below or email me at info@mocatoday.com.
Loving our enemies [or unselfishly seeking the best or higher good for an enemy as God's Word defines and the Holy Spirit leads] is really hard! Some say it's one of the most difficult things for a follower of Jesus Christ to do... And yet, Jesus commands us to love and pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44), made possible by the Holy Spirit's supernatural power.
Reviewed last week, when we choose to love our enemies, we will experience at least six increases in our lives:
Dependency on God.
Desire to stay in God's presence.
Strength to persevere through tough tests and challenges.
Ability to demonstrate the character of Jesus Christ.
Ability to do what's right, even if the same treatment is not returned.
Ability to see enemies as God sees them— as simply imperfect sinners that need God and genuine repentance in their lives.
Similar to how we experience fruits from loving enemies, enemies may experience certain fruits as well.
What happens to enemies when we love them?
There are at least three things enemies may experience when we love them:
God's love (agape love) is demonstrated. Following biblical teachings and examples from Jesus, enemies get a taste of what God's love actually looks and feels like. This could be transforming and by God's grace, possibly lead an enemy to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Remember the centurion at the cross (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23)? It's no surprise, we can't genuinely experience Jesus Christ and remain unchanged.
So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!" ~Matthew 27:54 (NKJV)
Seeds are sown to overcome evil with good. Over time, acts of righteousness may ultimately reap a repentant, God-fearing, Christ-following individual that was once an enemy that pursued evil and wickedness to now being a saved fellow brother or sister-in-Christ that pursues good and righteousness. Study Saul's conversion story (Acts 9).
All who heard him were astounded and said, "Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?" But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. ~Acts 9:21-22 (CSB)
Witness a godly, righteous way to treat each other. Ever heard the statement, "Ignorance is bliss?" This statement suggests if you don't know about something, you don't have to worry about it nor be held accountable for it. Well, when we love our enemies, our Christlike character demonstration can't be denied. Our enemy can no longer say they don't know what good or righteous treatment looks like... Hence, they have a choice to either continue being a hostile adversary or seek to follow our demonstration of loving Jesus and adhering to His command to love and pray for each other in all circumstances.
What other things may enemies experience when they are loved?
I would love to hear from you! Please share below.
Remember, it's about progression not perfection!
God loves you! With Him, you got this! Until next post, may God give you His peace and blessings!
~Natasha
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As always, thank you for sharing this word, sis! <3