Matthew 5:44-45 (NKJV) 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
I know what you’re thinking; how in this world do we love our enemies?
This is a big thing and most times we just skim over it, because deep down we all know it’s impossible for man to love his enemy.
So let’s take a look at what an enemy is. An enemy is someone that is antagonistic to another; one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent.
You mean to tell me I have to love those who want to antagonize me, injure me or overthrow me, and that’s only one part of this verse?
How do we do this with the right heart and not just go through the motions? How do we keep our heart from not wanting to do the same things back to them that they’ve done to us?
We are human, with feelings, and those feelings sometimes scream really loud to do the opposite of what these verses are saying. How do we win over what our own feelings, mind, heart and our attitude are saying? It’s so hard, and seems impossible.
Matthew 19:26 (NKJV)26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The first thing we need to do is get out of our heads. We can’t do this with intellect. We have to get into the Word of God. God’s word has a way of softening the hardest of hearts.
When hurtful things come our way, it can cause our heart to get hard quickly and our minds start to race. There is no room for God when our heart has been hardened and we are operating solely on intellect.
The second thing to do is to try to avoid spending a lot of time with negative people.
We should surround ourselves with people who can find the good things even in hard times. That doesn’t mean finding people who don’t face reality. But people that see things for what they are and choose to give it to God. They spend more time praying, listening and worshiping Him than they do trying to be in control of the situation.
Third, we shouldn’t speak whatever we feel like speaking or saying in that moment of anger, persecution or when we’re being accused. Learn to hold the tongue and wait on God to bring understanding so that when we do speak, if needed, it is well worth saying and good seeds are planted.
Without God it is impossible to live out these verses. But, with Him, we can learn to walk in them and live them out daily. Amen.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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