Easy to Say, Hard to Do!

Listen to this blog.

This is what I say to all who will listen to me:
Love your enemies, and be good to everyone who hates you.  Ask God to bless anyone who curses you, and pray for everyone who is cruel to you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, don't stop that person from slapping you on the other cheek. If someone wants to take your coat, don't try to keep back your shirt.  Give to everyone who asks and don't ask people to return what they have taken from you.

Luke 6:27-30

The practical reality of this teaching is very hard. I remember hearing someone say, "The Bible says we must love our enemies, but it never says we have to like them!" Then there is the neat theological distinction of "hate the sin and love the sinner."

Think of the most despicable person you know and ask yourself, "Do I really want God's best for this person? Do I want someone who deserves hell and has used me as a bulls eye for the arrows of hate to be blessed, pardoned and saved eternally?

Real love doesn't just ask God to bless an enemy. Love prompts me to take from my own blessing and resources and give it to someone who hates me. Doing that is not a normal human response. Unless your heart is changed into the image of Jesus you will not be able to love those who hate you.

If you want to fulfill God's command to love your enemies, you must first pray for Him to do a miracle in your heart. That miracle will make your heart like the heart of Jesus. The greatest miracle Jesus ever did was not healing the sick or raising the dead. The greatest miracle of Jesus was loving His enemies.

It was certainly love that held Jesus to the Cross. And it is the miracle of loving your enemies that Jesus wants to do in your heart today.