“You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Matthew 5:43-44
This passage is so familiar and yet many of us find it rather difficult to implement. We might think for a moment, “Who are our enemies?” Many of us believe we have no enemies. However, an enemy might be someone we thought was a friend, a family member with a long-held grudge, or even a brother or sister in Christ. An enemy can be someone we feel does not like us or has hurt or mistreated us.
Jesus says “Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” It is very difficult to “love, bless, do good, and pray” for a person who has hurt us.
This is a major test for God’s children. God wants us to do this so that we may resemble Him and be in His image. We all remember the story of Joseph and how he was sold into slavery by his brothers. They hated him! Years later when Joseph became a ruler in Egypt, his brothers came to him to buy food, and he treated them with kindness. Most would have said, “I don’t care what happens to you, because I have been treated badly!
Can you recall an incident in your own life where you were mistreated and you retaliated by being good to them? How often do you hear of anyone really paying someone back in kindness for an insulting remark? Well, according to Jesus, that’s what we should have done. What if we handled all our problems this way? What if when someone gives us a hard time, we respond with the energies of prayer! This is what God does. He gives us his best, to everyone, both the good and the bad, the nice and nasty! Wouldn’t we be better brothers, sisters, children, and friends? Then why not try it!
Linda Stewart
