Love Your Enemies
Most people have a very limited view of what love is and who they should love. They love those who are easy to love, and they love those who love them back. That means they do not have love for most of the people they know and with whom they interact. They make love just a feeling or an action of physical affection for another person. Nothing could be further from the truth. Love is a choice. We can choose to love anyone and everyone with whom we interact. That is the kind of love that Jesus had, and it is what He wants us to have. (Matthew 5:43-44) He told us in the Sermon on the Mount that they had heard it said, "Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy," but Jesus told them, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Jesus' love is completely different from the love promoted by this world. We need to understand this well, since it is what He expects of His children.
Jesus has commanded us to love our enemies. He used a word for love that means unselfish, unconditional love that is sincerely from the heart. He told us to love our enemies with that type of love, not just those who are dear to us. In fact, the word for enemy here can mean a "hateful person." Therefore, He has commanded us to love those who are very difficult to love because of their character or their actions. Then, we are to go one step farther and pray for them, the ones who persecute us. In other words, when someone harms us, we must not retaliate with hatred, but with sincere prayer for their salvation and well-being. When we pray for another person it is not possible to keep on having hard feelings toward them. It leads us to love them, because it is God's will for us to love them, and when we pray, we pray for God's will to be done. See what I mean. We are to live and to love like Jesus, and Jesus loves everyone so much that He gave His life for all people. That is the love He will give us for all people, if we allow His Spirit to fill us and empower us.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 6-8.