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Love Your Enemies
Brian Mashburn
June 19, 2016
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You Want Me To Love Who?
When God tells us to love our families, and to love them deeply with an unconditional kind of love, I understand. I don't always do it real well, but I always want to.
When God tells us to love each other in the church, I get that, too. It makes sense to me that our chosen love for one another as fellow believers would be a benefit to all of us, and would make us useful to God in ministry to each other, and would even make us a light in the world.
When God tells us to love our neighbors, we are definitely getting into a more proactive area. It is so easy to stay isolated from our neighbors, and most of them seem content with that as well. But if we are going to bring the Kingdom to the world, we certainly need to leave the safe confines of like-minded "church people" and love those whom we are among in the world.
Even when God tells us to love strangers, I can even get inspired. After all, even our neighbors are basically strangers until we get to know them. And He really builds the intrigue when he says that people may "entertain angels" when they love strangers.
But then... Jesus goes too far! He says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matt 5:44-45)
Say what?
This is one of those teachings that Christians can disobey with almost unarguable, undeniable reason and logic. Frankly, it sounds ridiculous if not impossible.
But do you see what Jesus says hangs in the balance? Our very identity as God's sons and daughters is expressed through nothing short of this. And on this Father's Day, perhaps we should reconsider our capacity to love like Him.