Love Whom?

In recent years, months and even days, I have been faced with obeying a command that God has plainly required of all Christians. A command that sometimes is hard to conceive the possibility of obeying. Indeed, it is a command against which we recoil. A command that hurts.

The command: to love our enemies.

You may ask, “Why should I love those who have hurt me, sinned against me, and never apologized?”

But God loves His children even when we sin against Him.

How do we love our enemies? First, we must pray for them fervently. In praying for them, we break down the walls that cause bitterness. Praying also delights God.

When praying for our enemies, we must make sure to be specific. For example: “Dear God, I am having a hard time loving my co-worker who is spreading slander about me. Please help me to forgive him (or her) and love him as You love me.” Or: “Dear God, a family member has been maritally unfaithful and caused great chaos in the family. I really want to tell that person how I feel, because it would make me feel better—but I know it would just be my words and not Yours. Help me to love as you love me, and to forgive as you forgive me every day.”

Praying for our enemies in this sort of specific, honest fashion will help engender in us compassion for their hurts, as well as help provide healing for our own.

The Lord God further tells us to be angry and sin not. Easier said than done, eh? But truly, you can be angry and not sin. Your anger can be righteous anger that leads you to say the right thing, and to do the right thing.

God has given us emotions for a reason. They cause us to act. Admittedly, if we don’t know how to control them, they sometimes get in the way. But a righteous anger toward one’s enemies (so frequently articulated in the Psalms) can be accompanied by peace, knowing that you are not sinning and that God is using you in the lives of your enemies.

When I have been called upon to love my enemies, many times I have turned from the task and ignored it. But grace calls us again and again to that task. Just recently I ate lunch with a lady that I have considered my enemy for the past five years.

Was it easy? No! Did I get a queasy feeling in my gut? Yes.

But … God. He had it all orchestrated and perfectly timed for us to meet together. She and I talked for over two hours. She apologized to me; I forgave her; and we hugged. Her words were sweet to my ears. I am continuing to pray for her and her walk with the Lord, and I now consider her my friend.

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