Platform Admin
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Outside the example of Jesus, this command makes no sense at all. But Jesus shows us the importance of leaving our destiny in the hands of our Creator and Father. Suddenly, this makes perfect sense. What is the best way to defeat an enemy? Certainly, it’s not to beat or kill that person. No, the way we defeat our enemies is by having Jesus’ grace capture their hearts, having their character conform to that of our King, and having them join us as we live for the Lord! That’s the way we defeat our enemies; we bring them to Jesus, and they become our brothers and sisters in Christ.
My Prayer…
Loving and gracious God, please soften my heart and toughen my resolve so I can love as Jesus loved. Make my life redemptive, especially to those who oppose, abhor, ridicule, belittle, and hate me. Use me, dear Father, to bring others to the grace of Jesus. In his name, I pray. Amen.
Bible References
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Luke 6:28
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
This verse is echoed in Matthew as well:
Matthew 5:43-45
“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, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
God demands a lifestyle of higher standard for His children. He desires for us to become more and more like Jesus as we mature in our faith. This entire chapter of Matthew is Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”, all 48 verses are instruction on how we are to live our lives as God’s children.
In verses 43-45 we are told to not just love our neighbor, as the Law told us to, but we are to take it even further and love our enemies! The Israelites in the Old Testament were to love their neighbor according to Leviticus 19:18. Although they were never directly commanded to hate their enemy, this was just a natural undertone of their actions and attitudes towards those who persecuted God’s people (Psalm 139:21,22). It was a righteous hostility against the enemies of God.
So now Jesus announces that we are to ‘love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us’! I don’t know about you, but there are days that it is a struggle for me to love my neighbor, let alone love and pray for those who persecute me! But you see it is a matter of will and not just emotions. If our actions in this life are only in direct response to our feelings, we will not live the life that God has called us to through His Son Jesus Christ. We must purpose to obey His Word even when we do not “feel” like doing so. We are not going to feel a natural affection for those who hate or harm us. It is a supernatural grace that can be acted out only through the Holy Spirit of God that is in us.
Make no mistake, we CAN do every single thing that God asks us to through Christ (Philippians 4:13). No matter how tough the task may seem, when we step out in faith and obey His Word, He is right there with all the strength we could ever need to accomplish His will!
When we love our enemies it is a wonderful example to the unsaved all around us of the love of Christ Jesus. It is not that we are condoning the acts of those who persecute God’s people, but we are showing them love and forgiveness in spite of their deeds, just as Christ has done for us. We can and should still hate sin, but we must love the sinner, and we must do as Romans 12:21 instructs and overcome evil with good!
Thank You Jesus for coming to this earth and dying for my sins. Help me to show Your love to all that I come into contact with each day, so that they may see a glimpse of Your love and desire to accept You as their Savior as well. I love You so my Redeemer and give You all praise, Amen!