WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
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“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” — Matthew 5:44
To love our enemies is perhaps the most challenging command Jesus gives us… a concept foreign to our nature. How are we to do what seems impossible?
“We must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves— to wish that he were not bad, to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not. I admit that this means loving people who have nothing lovable about them.“ – C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity –
Love is not just a feeling… love is a choice and an action. Jesus chose to love the unlovable throughout His earthly ministry. He is our model for impossible love. His Spirit works in us His will… molding us into His likeness… softening our unforgiving hearts… and doing for us what we find so difficult to do ourselves.
“Loving my enemies does not apparently mean thinking them nice either. That is an enormous relief. For a good many people imagine that forgiving your enemies means making out that they are really not such bad fellows after all, when it is quite plain that they are.” – C.S. Lewis
God does not expect us to “feel” love for our enemies as we do for our friends and loved ones. In fact, we may never associate with them, especially if it is not in our best interest or welfare. Yet we are called to be like Jesus… to choose to love the unlovable… to pray for Him to work in their lives.
We are not accepting their behavior nor are we condoning their wrong actions. Jesus did not accept the evil intentions and actions of His enemies. Yet one of His last prayers while on the cross was… “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). His ultimate sacrifice was for the sins of all people.
“God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
God’s nature is love. He always loves us… desires our absolute best… even at times when we may not be that lovable. He asks that we do the same for all His children, even our enemies. We pray for their repentance and conversion. For our Lord wants none to perish… for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Yet, it is a journey to impossible love… where we allow the Holy Spirit to work gradually in our hearts and lives, moving us to victory upon victory…
“Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.” – C.S. Lewis
On our spiritual journey, we grow to become more and more like Jesus… our heavenly Father’s ultimate desire for us. For He is our perfect example of impossible love lived out. Through His Spirit within us, we can do what would otherwise be unachievable… to love the unlovable.
† Eternal Takeaway – Impossible love is only possible by the power of the Spirit †
Lord, Help me to obey Your most difficult of commands… to love my enemies. Melt away any anger, bitterness, resentment that I am harboring. It is not about deserving love, for You unconditionally love me when I am unlovable. It is not about condoning what has been done, for You are not asking that. You want me to have a heart like Yours that desires for all to come to repentance and conversion. Fill me with Your unending love. For only You can help me live out this impossible love in my life. Amen.
