Daily devotion – love your enemies
Mat 5:44 “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.
Nowhere did the Law of Moses teach hatred for our enemies.
Jesus defined our enemies as those who curse us, hate us, and exploit us selfishly. The love defined in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13, teaches us that love is an act of the will, and not simply an emotion. Jesus has the right to command us to love our enemies – after all He loved us when we were His enemy – Romans 5:10
We are to show this love by blessing those who curse us, doing good to them, and praying for them. When we pray for our enemies, we find it easier to love them. Could this be because God opens our eyes to His love for them? That He sees them as lost and broken souls?
Love is a mark of maturity – those who rebel against God’s command to love our enemies reveal their immaturity and that they are not living like they are children of the Father.
Loving our enemies shows we are Godlike, and it is a testimony to others. Christians are expected to live differently to those in the world.
If we are children of God, we have no backdoor, no excuse, no way out not to obey Christ’s commandment to love our enemies.
I love the old wedding vows – for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse….til death do us part!
This week show you are a child of God in your obedience to this command – let God sort out the rest and He will. You will experience a miracle in your own life as the power and blessing of God flow down, through and upon you as you seek to be His obedient servant.
Finally, none of us have a reason NOT to live out this commandment, your case, my case, my situation, your situation is not different or above God’s law or His commandments.
Love…bless….do good…pray….that’s your and my orders to fulfill.