What happens when we love our enemies?

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In the Book of Matthew, Jesus warns His Followers that they will indeed be insulted, persecuted (Matthew 5:11), and hated by others because of His Name (Matthew 10:22). Therefore, it should be no surprise that throughout our lives today, we may experience tough seasons with others that are deeply opposed or openly hostile towards us. The Bible calls those that bear such hostile opposition enemies (or exthrós in Greek) which means "someone openly hostile (at enmity) or actively hostile, hating, and opposing another" (Biblehub).

Do you have enemies in your life?

Did you know Jesus commands us to love our enemies?

Yes, Jesus negates the world's view of "only loving those that love us" and instead commands that we are to love those that love us AND love those that are against us.

Let's review a few scriptures from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount—

You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him]. For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that? You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect. ~Matthew 5:43-48 (AMP)

In an article "The Freedom of Loving Your Enemies", Shana Schutte describes,

The command Christ gives us to love those who persecute us and hate us doesn’t mean you have to be best friends, forget what they have done, or even approve of their actions. It doesn’t mean you don’t have boundaries. But it does mean you unselfishly seek the best or higher good for them and pray for them. It does mean you ask God to give you a heart of forgiveness.

Personally, I have found choosing to love my enemies [or unselfishly seek the best or higher good for an enemy as The Word defines and Holy Spirit leads] produces the following increases:

• Increases your overall dependency on God. In an effort to practice self-control and stay obedient to God (versus to your flesh or to satan), you will find yourself increasingly depending on God (through His Word and prayer) and heavily relying on the Holy Spirit to guide your thoughts, choices, and actions more than ever! With your desire to keep loving your enemies as Christ commands, attack after attack, total reliance on God and a growing relationship with Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior is crucial.

• Increases your desire to stay in God's presence. As attempts via various forms to kill, steal, and destroy you come your way, you will find that staying in God's presence is where you will hear His voice (among the "crowd" and competing distractions), experience peace beyond your understanding (Philippians 4:6), get reassurance and confidence that God is with you (Deuteronomy 31:6), along with the ability to genuinely forgive and pray for those that wish to do you harm. Learn how to stay in God's presence here.

• Increases your strength to persevere [or persist despite counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement] through some of your toughest tests and challenges. Loving your enemies will surely test your faith at various degrees and levels (James 1:2-4). However, if you remain steadfast and stay planted with God, you'll notice an increasing ability to keep pushing through your storms, tests, and/or trials that you previously would have given up on a long time ago.

• Increases your ability to demonstrate the character of Christ. While Jesus was being crucified on the cross, He prayed for his tormentors (Luke 23:34). Can you honestly do that for yours? As children of God, we're called to mature as Christ ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:11-21) and grow to exemplify the character of God in all circumstances.

• Increases your ability to do what's right (according to the Word of God) towards your enemies, which is pleasing to God, even if the same treatment and thoughtfulness is not returned to you. You will find yourself embracing the attitude, "God sees it all and He has the final say. My job is to continue trusting God, grow with Him, and do what He calls me to do, no matter what my enemies are or trying to do to me... I will keep trusting that no weapon formed against me shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17) and I will not get discouraged no matter how hard it gets."

Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in. ~Galatians 6:9 (AMP)

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. ~Romans 12:21 (NLT)

• Increases your ability to see your enemies as God sees them— as simply imperfect sinners that need God and genuine repentance in their lives. Throughout the scriptures, it is written that God desires all sinners to be saved (Ezekiel 18:23, Matthew 23:37, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). One of the fruits from praying for and loving others, friends and foes, is that God will soften your heart towards them over time and you will begin to see them as fellow sinners in desperate need of God's provision, grace, and mercy just like you.

Given above, how are you handling the enemies or hostile opposition in your life? What other practical ways have you found helpful to love your enemies?

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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