Love Your Enemies

[rizen1]

Matthew 5:43-48
Love Your Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. 45 If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 46 If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that. 47 And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends. 48 What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

 

[Travis]

This is like the easiest commandment Jesus ever gave!



In all honesty though, I find this commandment to be very freeing. Intentionally loving our enemies instead of enacting revenge on them or hating them really is a blessing at the end of the day. Doing something usually feels better than doing nothing, and doing something good feels a whole lot better than doing something bad.

"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"

Travis

 

[kvnchrist]

All the commandments are freeing. The only true obstacle to any of them is ourselves. The idea of control and fearing a loss of it is has frozen many a person in intransigence.

Many don't even know how little control we do have in our lives, but many will adhere to the delusion of control like a lifesaver. Then they will repel even the smallest intrusion into that mental image as if their very lives are in jeopardy.

What truly frees us is the letting go of the of the fearful teachings of the old world and embracing the new. The promise of God. Let go and let God.

Once you've released the idea of being the personal chauffeur for all the hurts the world has piled upon you, you will see the folly of your past mindset and the wisdom of release. Also, as an added bonus you will take away the satisfaction of many in this world who think they have accomplished something by causing others pain. They will expect a counter attack back from you and a kind word in an explosive situation has defused more than one bully.

Forgiveness is also a great weapon of inner peace, since it too removers the burdens our egos are at times reluctant to dismiss.

 

[rizen1]

Forgiveness is also a great weapon of inner peace, since it too removers the burdens our egos are at times reluctant to dismiss.

So, True

In all honesty though, I find this commandment to be very freeing. Intentionally loving our enemies instead of enacting revenge on them or hating them really is a blessing at the end of the day. Doing something usually feels better than doing nothing, and doing something good feels a whole lot better than doing something bad.

I agree, the greatest test a Christian can ever face is having to love their enemies. Not through words but action.

 

[RJ]

Something else Jesus said that correlates to loving your enemies is that if you look at another person with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery.
The point here is that Jesus established a whole different way of looking at things. The people of the time were stuck in the law. The eventual establishment of the New Testament salvation by grace would even go beyond the law and Jesus was ushering this in.

You must love your enemies doesn't mean that you must accept their lifestyles or agree with what they do but it is all about Agape Love. If you don't try to love them like this, you have no chance of being able to forgive them. It takes a great deal of faith to love in this manner, God help us all.

 

[kvnchrist]

Something else Jesus said that correlates to loving your enemies is that if you look at another person with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery.
The point here is that Jesus established a whole different way of looking at things. The people of the time were stuck in the law. The eventual establishment of the New Testament salvation by grace would even go beyond the law and Jesus was ushering this in.

You must love your enemies doesn't mean that you must accept their lifestyles or agree with what they do but it is all about Agape Love. If you don't try to love them like this, you have no chance of being able to forgive them. It takes a great deal of faith to love in this manner, God help us all.

Very true! Love is not to be mistaken for the world's views of tolerance. Tolerance in today's world is a one way street with everyone agreeing with the speaker. This is not tolerance or love. It is abandonment of not only one's principles but one's own self.
The world's ideas of terminology is what I would expect from a 10 year old. If you say anything about what a person is doing, no mater how dangerous it is, It is automatically taken as that you hate them personalty for being themselves. This is when they use hater or hate speech to try and silence us.

It would seem to me, if you hate someone who is doing something dangerous you would just set by and watch them destroyt themselves and/or their lives.

I sometimes wonder if Ideology is the new religion of the left because they are so sure they are correct in their mindset that it is inconceivable for them to think they can be wrong. At least We as Christian's evaluate ourselves.

It surprises me just how much they use science to deny Gods existence but they, themselves need far lesser evidence to determine our qualities. Truth to them is handed down from the great blog in the Skype.

 

[RJ]

Very true! Love is not to be mistaken for the world's views of tolerance. Tolerance in today's world is a one way street with everyone agreeing with the speaker. This is not tolerance or love. It is abandonment of not only one's principles but one's own self.
The world's ideas of terminology is what I would expect from a 10 year old. If you say anything about what a person is doing, no mater how dangerous it is, It is automatically taken as that you hate them personalty for being themselves. This is when they use hater or hate speech to try and silence us.

You it the nail square on the head!!! This is the Liberal / Progressive Theology that we fight! This is not Christian!

 

[rizen1]

I think it's hard to truly understand what love truly means.
Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Love is easier to distinguish when its given to those undeserving, unwarranted with no strings attach. Imagine God showed his love despite the rebellious condition of man, knowing man would still be at war with each other, enslave others, steal, kill, continue to be rebellious towards him after the sacrifice was made, yet he showed his love anyway.

This is when they use hater or hate speech to try and silence us

It may not be you they are trying to silence, but just as there are radical muslims, radical "christians" also exist and makes the whole body look bad. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan since their inception have labelled themselves a christian organization, as with many nationalist groups. These groups influence a lot of the dialogue online.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful

 

[Wired 4 Fishen]

Ok let me ask this question..........Who are your enemies ?