Teachings from the Mountainside - Pt. 12

[Jesus said] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48 ESV).

 

Let’s get this out of the way first… there are always people we don’t like. In fact, though we may not like to admit it, we all have enemies. For whatever reason, your relationship with that person is tainted with animosity and hostility. But Jesus’ teaching is that we treat with kindness even those who make our lives miserable. Most everyone is kind to people who are kind to them. The mark of true discipleship, however, lies in how we act toward people who treat us like enemies. Following Jesus entails praying for people who wish us harm, going out of our way to be friendly to the unfriendly, and offering to help someone who has hurt us. Knowing this is at best difficult, here are some simple ways to forgive and love our enemies.

 

First, genuinely ray for them. When I begin to get angry at what someone has done to me in the past, I find that praying God’s good for them works grace in my life. When I get overwhelmed, I try to offer up all my emotional suffering for the healing of my soul and theirs.

 

Second, do good to your enemies. One thing that helps me with forgiveness is to do good to my enemies. Instead of dwelling in past hurts and situations doing good to them allows me to move forward emotionally. It may be a kind word, or a short written note of graceful kindness; and, even if they don’t appreciate my gift in this life, I am able to move myself forward positively.

 

Third, remain humble. We all know that this isn’t always possible. We must accept the fact that we cannot control how other people behave. What we can control is our own emotions and behavior. We can focus on improving our own faults, weaknesses, failures and shortcomings. When we do so, we gain more of God’s tender mercy towards us and the strength we need to extend that same mercy towards others.

 

Fourth, fast forward. When I still have a difficult time forgiving, I try to fast forward to the last two hours of my life and realize that I will be asking our Gracious God for the same mercy that I am refusing to give to others. I then rewind back to the present, pray to God to help me let go of my anger and give me the grace to offer up all my pain out of love for Him and those who have hurt me.

 

Give it a try. See if these things might help you accomplish the work of the Savior, who even when we were still his enemy in our sin, died for us (cf. Romans 5:8).