Love Your Enemies
“Jesus is asking us to choose love rather than hate. Choose to love your neighbor, those you know, and those you don’t. Choose to love those who despise you, for loving those who love you is no effort at all. ”
It is exciting to start the new school year when all our school-aged kids move to the next grade. You remember how that was—you spent the summer telling everyone you were no longer a fifth grader but a sixth grader now. Advancing to a new grade brought excitement, and some anxiety.
I had an interesting conversation with a student excited for the new year, except his nemesis was in several of the same classes. I try not to have enemies; just as important, I try not to label them as such. If you think of someone as your enemy, they become someone to be conquered. I haven't always done this, it is a learned behavior. When I played sports, I made every team my enemy. I would hate my opponent because I thought I had too in order to beat them.
My hometown was split into two schools when I was in the eighth grade. Guys I had played with all my school years were now my rivals. I remember my senior year of high school, we played one another and used it to promote Jesus in our community. We came together and put flyers in our stadium, shining Christ into our contest.
I was conflicted in my heart because I hated these guys; I labeled them my enemy. How can I hate them and share the love of Christ with them? I couldn't, and this event pointed out the fault in my thinking. They were guys like me, competing to win the contest, not my enemy. I can compete and not hate. I can have those I disagree with and not hate, but it is up to me to decide. The selfish side of my nature didn't want to see the good side of my competitors. While we were fortunate to win the game, God won the battle and changed my heart. These guys were not my enemies but my brothers in Christ. What wasted emotions I had, emotions I almost lost friendship over. I went to college with many I played against, and we were good friends.
In Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he corrected faulty thinking and misinterpreted scripture. Jesus would say, "You have heard it said," then fix the fault. The world does an excellent job of telling us who we should hate and how we should respond to those who hate us. Those not aligned with our group or cause must be evil and our enemy. It is much easier to hate than to have a conversation. Truth is never afraid of a conversation, hatred is.
The world is not our enemy or a foe to be vanquished. Instead, It is a place where we shine Christ's truth, grace, and love. In Matthew 5: 43-48 (NASB), Jesus said:
"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 prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Jesus is asking us to choose love rather than hate. Choose to love your neighbor, those you know, and those you don't. Choose to love those who despise you, for loving those who love you is no effort at all. Jesus doesn't permit us to choose our neighbor.
Interestingly, a lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” We want to be able to choose our neighbor, choose the ones we show the love of Christ. This world is our neighbor. When we decide those we label as enemies do not deserve to hear the good news of Jesus and his plan for our lives, we have judged them.
Jesus gave the story of the Good Samaritan in response to this lawyer's question. The lawyer wasn't interested in who his neighbor was but in eliminating those he didn't want to talk to about Jesus—limiting his conversation to only those he qualified. The Samaritans were hated among the Israelites because they had intermarried and were considered unclean. This must have been hard to listen to for a respectable Jew looking to justify himself. How have I justified not sharing or showing the love of Christ? I have a good friend who always says, "all the 'good' people are taken, it is time to get our hands dirty." He means that it is time to stop labeling and qualifying people and see them as God sees them.
Loving your enemies does not mean laying down. On the contrary, it means standing up. We must lovingly speak the truth because truth spoken harshly is ineffective. It can be straightforward, but spoken kindly. However, I learned that I cannot hate those who oppose me and talk about the love of Christ effectively.
I must walk in the truth of God's plan for me so that others see Christ and hear his goodness. We can't show goodness to others we view as our enemy. Jesus recognized that it would not be easy to love those who hate us, so he corrected the poor theology and walked it to the cross. He loved those who hated him so that we may trust the truth and goodness of God. Jesus' plan is perfect, and his path is good, not easy.
Discipleship is about learning to love people as Christ loved them. We only know how to be like Christ when we follow him. Jesus leads us to his Word, guided by his Holy Spirit to do as he has done. We can't do this alone, we need others who have decided to follow Jesus.
Matthew 5:48 might be the hardest part of being a follower of Christ for us …"Therefore, you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Perfection is something we know we cannot obtain this side of heaven. We will struggle, we must learn to struggle well. We see others as God sees them as we walk daily with God, and them.
People are not our enemy; Satan is our enemy. Psalm 110:1 (NASB) says, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." Learning to sit at the right hand of God and let him win the battle with Satan is our safest place. It is the place that allows God's glory and power to shine through and the enemy, Satan, and his minions to be exposed and defeated.
We are set apart in the world but not from the world. We walk with others so that they might hear the good news of Jesus, witness his work in our life, and find the path to peace and abundant life in him. We have no enemy except Satan, and he is a liar. Give truth grounded in love a try, and struggle well. I am sure you will find strength, purpose, and others on this journey. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.
