Tag Archives: love your enemies

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Love Your Enemies! You’re Kidding, Right?

Do It - Your Reward Will Be Great

The kind of love for an enemy that Jesus requires of us is not so much something of the heart; it requires mainly something of the will — that which we have to will ourselves into. Agape level love with your enemy is in fact a victory over what comes instinctively to us by nature: anger, resentment and retribution toward hurtful people. But agape love belongs to the true disciple of Jesus, and it is the one and only weapon in the disciple’s arsenal that is able to conquer all. Jesus proved it!

The Journey: Luke 6:35-36

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Quite often, Jesus’ commands aren’t the kind that can be automatically or easily carried out; they require careful thought and great exertion of the will in applying them. So it is with this case, loving our enemies. For some, this command is just humanly impossible, so it is ignored altogether. That is too bad! For others, they ignorantly try to apply Jesus’ words well beyond what he intended. That is also too bad.

Christ’s followers would do well to accurately think through this law of love and then strategically live it out in their relationships. If they did—on both accounts—the world would be a much different and better place.

There were four different Greek words for “love” that the Gospel writer Luke could have chosen to capture Jesus’ words regarding the Christian’s response to his enemies. Luke didn’t choose storge—which meant “family love”; he didn’t choose eros—which meant the “passionate love of irresistible longing”; he didn’t chose philos—which was the warmest Greek word describing love of “the most tender affection”. The word used here for “love” was agape. That word referred to an “unconquerable, benevolent, invincible, reconciling kindness” kind of love.

Now in the case of loving an enemy, that kind of love is not something of the heart; it requires mainly something of the will — something we will likely have to will ourselves into. Agape with your enemy is in fact, a victory over that which comes instinctively to us by nature: anger, resentment and retribution toward hurtful people.

Agape love belongs to the true disciple of Jesus. It is the one and only weapon in the disciple’s arsenal able to conquer all. Someone has rightly said, “It belongs to the children of God to receive blows rather than to inflict them. The [loving] Christian is the anvil that has worn out many hammers.” The law of agape love, fully embraced and obediently lived out, is that powerful!

Now people have tried to apply this teaching to promote pacifism in international relationships. That’s a nice try—and not a bad idea whenever possible. But foremost, the enemy Jesus has in mind is the one we meet in our everyday life: A spouse, a sibling, a classmate, a co-worker or a neighbor. You see, it is much easier to declare peace between nations than it is to live a life where we never allow bitterness, anger and retribution to invade our personally relationships.

Jesus is saying that when we practice this law of love on a personal basis, we make breaking the cycle of bitterness and retribution possible where it really counts: In the real world of our daily lives. Moreover, in so doing, we actually catalyze another law, the law of reconciliation.

Reconciliation! That is at the heart of why Jesus came to earth—to reconcile God and sinners, and to reconcile sinners with one another. Think of all the fractured relationships that would be reconciled if we would choose to obey the law of love.

Not only that, but in living out this law of love, we become like God—something that truly honors and pleases the heart of our Father. That’s what Jesus said: “You will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35, NLT)

That is a pretty compelling reason for choosing to express this unconquerable, benevolent, kind, invincible, reconciling agape love—especially toward people who least deserve it. It is who God is, it is what God does, it is when we are most like God, and it is what his Son asked us to do:

You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. (Luke 6:36, NLT)

So, love your enemy just in case your friend turns out to be your enemy and your enemy turns into your friend.

To what enemy do you need to extend unconquerable, benevolent, invincible, reconciling kindness? Go do it, it is what you were created to do!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I want to do what you have created me to do: love—even to love my enemies. Give me the want to and the will to do what I, as your true child, must do.
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A Downright Nasty Little Prayer

When It’s Completely Appropriate to Pray Angry

If you are going to unleash an imprecatory prayer on someone—a downright nasty little diatribe to God—just remember that Divine justice is blind; it cuts both ways. So make sure your own evil has been covered by the blood of Christ, which comes by grace through faith through the acknowledgement and repentance of sin.

Read: Psalm 137 // Focus: Psalm 137:8

“O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us.”

If you are going to enjoy the psalms, sooner or later you’ll have to deal with a psalm like this. Psalm 137 is a downright nasty little song/prayer that calls for the violent destruction of the Babylonian people—akin to the call for a Jewish Jihad! This is what we called an imprecatory psalm—the calling down of a divine curse; a prayer for violent vengeance.

So the question is, what place does such an angry psalm have in the song book of a loving God?

First, this isn’t simply a religious rant. Psalm 137 should not be isolated from the others psalms—or from the rest of Scripture, for that matter. It makes sense only in context of both the theological and historical setting. The writer wasn’t just calling down vengeance because he didn’t like someone. The Babylonians had perpetrated great violence against God’s people, so the psalmist was only calling on God to do what God had promised to do. (see Jeremiah 52:4-11)

Second, this is not a call to take vengeance into human hands. The psalmist sees God as judge, jury and executioner, and upon that basis makes his plea for the proper execution of Divine justice. (James 4:12)

Third, though it isn’t acknowledged within this psalm, other Scripture shows that before the Jews had called down judgment on their captors, they had first thoroughly repented before God for the very things that had brought them under the iron-fist of Babylon to begin with. (Daniel 9:1-19) They had, as Jesus later called us to do, taken the beam out of their own eye before they bothered with judgment for their tormentors. (Matthew 7:1-5)

Finally, this prayer, and others like it, is aligned with God’s prophetic indictment of Israel’s enemies. The writer is praying what the Scripture has already declared, calling into fulfillment God’s judgment against some extremely evil people. (Psalm 103:6)

For the most part, our prayers should be along the lines that Jesus taught: “love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” (Luke 6:27-28 NLT) But when evil goes beyond the pale, it is certainly appropriate to pray for what is at the core of God’s being: Justice.

However, I think I need to offer one caveat: If you are going to unleash an imprecatory prayer, just remember that Divine justice is blind; it cuts both ways. So make sure your own evil has been covered by the blood of Christ, which comes by grace through faith through the acknowledgement and repentance of sin.

Making Life Work: Are you angry about someone or something? First, make sure you are good and angry. (see Psalm 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26) Next, confess your own sins before God and thank him for his undeserved mercy and grace in your life, Now you are ready to pray for what or for whom you angry. So go for it!

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The Complete Appropriateness Of A Downright Nasty Little Prayer

Read Psalm 137

Featured Verse: Psalm 137:8

“O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us.”

If you are going to enjoy the psalms, sooner or later you’ll have to deal with a psalm like this. This is a downright nasty little psalm that calls for the violent destruction of the Babylonian people—akin to the call for a Jewish Jihad! This is what we call an imprecatory psalm—the calling down of a divine curse; a prayer for violent vengeance.

So the question is, what place does such an angry psalm have in a loving God’s book?

First, this isn’t simply a religious rant. Psalm 137 should not be isolated from the others psalms—or from the rest of Scripture, for that matter. It makes sense only in context of both theological and historical context. The writer wasn’t just calling down vengeance because he didn’t like someone. The Babylonians had perpetrated great violence against God’s people, so the psalmist was only calling on God to do what God had promised to do.

Second, this is not a call to take vengeance into human hands. The psalmist sees God as judge, jury and executioner, and upon that basis makes his plea for the proper execution of Divine justice.

Third, though it isn’t acknowledged within this psalm, other Scripture shows that before the Jews had called down judgment on their captors, they had first thoroughly repented before God for the very things that had brought them under the iron-fist of Babylon to begin with. (Daniel 9:1-19) They had, as Jesus later called us to do, taken the beam out of their own eye before they bothered with judgment for their tormentors. (Matthew 7:1-5)

Finally, this prayer, and others like it, is aligned with God’s prophetic indictment of Israel’s enemies. They are praying what the Scripture has already declared, calling into fulfillment God’s judgment against some extremely evil people.

For the most part, our prayers should be along the lines that Jesus taught: “Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” (Luke 6:27-28 NLT) But when evil goes beyond the pale, it is certainly appropriate to pray for what is at the core of God’s being: Justice.

However, there is just one caveat: If you are going to unleash an imprecatory prayer, just remember that Divine justice is blind; it cuts both ways. So make sure your own evil has been covered by the blood of Christ, which comes only by grace through faith through the acknowledgement and repentance of sin.

“I tell you, brethren, if mercies and if judgments do not convert you, God has no other arrows in His quiver.”
~Robert Murray M’Cheyne

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Burning Coals of Fire

Read: Proverbs 25:21-22

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

Our normal response to this verse is to think of it in terms of how God expects us to treat those toward whom we feel a fair amount of hostility, or those who feel that hostility toward us.  Yet I think it would be a great exercise today to just back up for a moment and first consider this verse in terms of the hostility that once existed between you and God.  Romans 5 reminds us that we were once the enemies of God. Ephesians 2 says we were deserving of wrath and without hope.  Colossians 1 and 2 tells us that we were alienated from him and dead in our sins.

In other words, we were really in a bad way, and we couldn’t do a thing about it!  But God, who is rich in mercy and overflowing with grace, reached out in love toward you and me and showered us with his undeserved kindness. He took the initiative to break down those walls of hostility that kept us separate from him, he freely forgave our sins, he graciously gave us new life, he brought us near when we were hopelessly far away and even though we were once hostile enemies, he turned us into his very best and dearest friends.  So when you think about it, this command that we should do the same for our enemies only makes sense in light of what God has done for the undeserving sinners that we once were—and I suppose, in a very real sense, still are.

Yet before you think about any hostility that might exist between you and another person, just dwell for a few moments on your former condition—and rejoice!  Bask in the rich grace and undeserved mercy of the Lord—and let your gratitude pour out!  Think about it: You didn’t get what you deserved—God’s judgment. That’s mercy!  And you got what you didn’t deserve—God’s favor.  That’s grace!

Now, how can you offer anything less to those around us—especially to those who don’t deserve it?

“God forgives my debts as I forgive my debtors. The reverse is also
true: Only by living in the stream of God’s grace will I find
strength to respond with grace toward others.”
~Phillip Yancey

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:

My guess is that you have an “enemy” in your life.  Even though it is likely they don’t deserve it, commit an act of grace upon them–today!  It might be tough, but let the undeserved kindness that God has showered upon you be your motivation. And keep in mind that he promises a reward to those who will act upon his command.  That may soothe your pain a bit as you love your enemy.

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Psalm 137: The Complete Appropriateness Of A Downright Nasty Little Prayer

One Year Bible: I Kings 20:1-21:29, Acts 12:23-13:12; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 17:16

The Complete Appropriateness Of A Downright Nasty Little Prayer

O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is he who repays you
for what you have done to us.
(Psalm 137:8)

If you are going to enjoy the psalms, sooner or later you’ll have to deal with a psalm like this. This is a downright nasty little psalm that calls for the violent destruction of the Babylonian people—akin to the call for a Jewish Jihad! This is what we call an imprecatory psalm—the calling down of a divine curse; a prayer for violent vengeance.

So the question is, what place does such an angry psalm have in a loving God’s book?

First, this isn’t simply a religious rant. Psalm 137 should not be isolated from the others psalms—or from the rest of Scripture, for that matter. It makes sense only in context of both theological and historical context. The writer wasn’t just calling down vengeance because he didn’t like someone. The Babylonians had perpetrated great violence against God’s people, so the psalmist was only calling on God to do what God had promised to do.

Second, this is not a call to take vengeance into human hands. The psalmist sees God as judge, jury and executioner, and upon that basis makes his plea for the proper execution of Divine justice.

Third, though it isn’t acknowledged within this psalm, other Scripture shows that before the Jews had called down judgment on their captors, they had first thoroughly repented before God for the very things that had brought them under the iron-fist of Babylon to begin with. (Daniel 9:1-19) They had, as Jesus later called us to do, taken the beam out of their own eye before they bothered with judgment for their tormentors. (Matthew 7:1-5)

Finally, this prayer, and others like it, is aligned with God’s prophetic indictment of Israel’s enemies. They are praying what the Scripture has already declared, calling into fulfillment God’s judgment against some extremely evil people.

For the most part, our prayers should be along the lines that Jesus taught: “Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” (Luke 6:27-28 NLT) But when evil goes beyond the pale, it is certainly appropriate to pray for what is at the core of God’s being: Justice.

However, there is just one caveat: If you are going to unleash an imprecatory prayer, just remember that Divine justice is blind; it cuts both ways. So make sure your own evil has been covered by the blood of Christ, which comes only by grace through faith through the acknowledement and repentance of sin.

“I tell you, brethren, if mercies and if judgments do not convert you,
God has no other arrows in His quiver.”
~Robert Murray M’Cheyne