Love Your Enemy - Impossible
Love Your Enemy – Impossible
There are many things that are not possible for human beings to do. We can not add another day to our lives regardless of how passionate we want to live. Neither can we add another day to the life of another. There is an appointed time to die and when it comes, it is over. This weekend the nation mourns for Tim Russert of NBC news who collapsed and died in his office at the age of 58. Tim was full of life and he was on top of the world with his powerful position of influencing the world through his political journalism. It is not possible for Tim to raise himself from dead and be alive today or to have stopped his death. When it comes to loving our enemies, I put it at the same level of impossibility. You may say the two are not comparable. Well, let’s investigate this command of Jesus to love our enemies
Luke 6:27-36
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Here are some observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Who is our enemy that we are commanded to love? Jesus gives examples of those who persecute, hate, curse and mistreat us as our enemies.
2. We are naturally inclined to love those who love us and the fact that even “sinners” do the same indicates that you do not a miracle to love those who love. Culturally, the Jews referred to the prostitutes and the hoodlums as “sinners” as if they are the only ones who have sinned. We are equally naturally inclined to hate our enemies and we do it with ease.
3. Loving our enemies does not make us “sons (daughters) of the Most High”. Rather Jesus was implying that when you become the son or daughter of God, then you can love your enemies. Then people will know us as son of God by our love not just for loving our neighbors but also for loving our enemies.
4. Loving our enemies is the highest standard set by God because God does the same –“He (God) is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” We are to “be perfect, therefore, as your (our) heavenly Father is perfect.” We may not attain that perfection here in this life but we have been made perfect when we enter into relationship with Christ.
5. With God, all things are possible. Can we love our enemies? Yes but only through God’s love which has been “poured into us”. We were enemies to God and He still loved us and died for our sins and as a result, when we realize that, then we can love our enemies. This is why Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. It is only the nature of God in us (i.e. His Holy Spirit) that can really love our enemies.
6. Jesus has given us some examples in the passage as to how we can love our enemies. We are to do good to them, bless them and pray for them. My experience is that if I can first pray for the one who has mistreated me, only then can I warm up to later bless and do the person good. It does not come easily but we must first give that wounded part of us to God for healing. After then can we honestly pray for these our enemies.
I heard about two great examples of someone loving his enemy. First is a news article by CNN about a Hutu woman who is now having dinners and bible studies with a Tutsi man and his family. The Tutsi man was the one who used butcher knife to kill the Hutu woman’s husband during the Rwanda genocide. Now, tell me that this is not a miracle. The Hutu woman of course confessed that it took a couple years for her to get to this point. Only God could have done this. Another example is an Asian man whose only son was killed by another young man who belonged to a gang. The Asian man later went to the authorities to ask for the release of the young gang member/ murderer. He requested and got permission, adopted and raised him with the love of Christ. Today, this ex-murder is serving God as a pastor. This is another miracle of God. With God, all things are possible.
Yours and mine enemies may not be of the magnitude of the above cited examples but still we do have enemies. For a period, people who have hurt and mistreated us for no fault of ours would be our enemies. We are still called to love them. Who has hurt and cursed you so bad? Will you pray and bless them today? Remember, “Do to others as you would have them (as Jesus did for us) do to you”. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Jesus actually expects us to do so. He said in the conclusion of this passage, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)). Is Jesus your Lord? May God help us to love even our enemies. Amen.
There are many things that are not possible for human beings to do. We can not add another day to our lives regardless of how passionate we want to live. Neither can we add another day to the life of another. There is an appointed time to die and when it comes, it is over. This weekend the nation mourns for Tim Russert of NBC news who collapsed and died in his office at the age of 58. Tim was full of life and he was on top of the world with his powerful position of influencing the world through his political journalism. It is not possible for Tim to raise himself from dead and be alive today or to have stopped his death. When it comes to loving our enemies, I put it at the same level of impossibility. You may say the two are not comparable. Well, let’s investigate this command of Jesus to love our enemies
Luke 6:27-36
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Here are some observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Who is our enemy that we are commanded to love? Jesus gives examples of those who persecute, hate, curse and mistreat us as our enemies.
2. We are naturally inclined to love those who love us and the fact that even “sinners” do the same indicates that you do not a miracle to love those who love. Culturally, the Jews referred to the prostitutes and the hoodlums as “sinners” as if they are the only ones who have sinned. We are equally naturally inclined to hate our enemies and we do it with ease.
3. Loving our enemies does not make us “sons (daughters) of the Most High”. Rather Jesus was implying that when you become the son or daughter of God, then you can love your enemies. Then people will know us as son of God by our love not just for loving our neighbors but also for loving our enemies.
4. Loving our enemies is the highest standard set by God because God does the same –“He (God) is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” We are to “be perfect, therefore, as your (our) heavenly Father is perfect.” We may not attain that perfection here in this life but we have been made perfect when we enter into relationship with Christ.
5. With God, all things are possible. Can we love our enemies? Yes but only through God’s love which has been “poured into us”. We were enemies to God and He still loved us and died for our sins and as a result, when we realize that, then we can love our enemies. This is why Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. It is only the nature of God in us (i.e. His Holy Spirit) that can really love our enemies.
6. Jesus has given us some examples in the passage as to how we can love our enemies. We are to do good to them, bless them and pray for them. My experience is that if I can first pray for the one who has mistreated me, only then can I warm up to later bless and do the person good. It does not come easily but we must first give that wounded part of us to God for healing. After then can we honestly pray for these our enemies.
I heard about two great examples of someone loving his enemy. First is a news article by CNN about a Hutu woman who is now having dinners and bible studies with a Tutsi man and his family. The Tutsi man was the one who used butcher knife to kill the Hutu woman’s husband during the Rwanda genocide. Now, tell me that this is not a miracle. The Hutu woman of course confessed that it took a couple years for her to get to this point. Only God could have done this. Another example is an Asian man whose only son was killed by another young man who belonged to a gang. The Asian man later went to the authorities to ask for the release of the young gang member/ murderer. He requested and got permission, adopted and raised him with the love of Christ. Today, this ex-murder is serving God as a pastor. This is another miracle of God. With God, all things are possible.
Yours and mine enemies may not be of the magnitude of the above cited examples but still we do have enemies. For a period, people who have hurt and mistreated us for no fault of ours would be our enemies. We are still called to love them. Who has hurt and cursed you so bad? Will you pray and bless them today? Remember, “Do to others as you would have them (as Jesus did for us) do to you”. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Jesus actually expects us to do so. He said in the conclusion of this passage, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)). Is Jesus your Lord? May God help us to love even our enemies. Amen.
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