Love Your Enemies

Matthew 5:43–45 NIV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Martin Luther King Jr. once shared a sermon on this passage. I want to quickly share with you his three points.

1. Develop and Maintain the Capacity to Forgive

The best way to do this is to truly embrace and understand the forgiveness God offers you through Jesus’ death on the cross.

Knowing and embracing that you have made yourself God’s enemy by your sin, and yet He chose to actually trade places with you on the cross humbles you.

If God can forgive me for eternal offenses then it is such a small thing to forgive someone who has wronged me.

Comparing my treason against God to something someone can do to me here puts it in perspective!

1. Develop and Maintain the Capacity to Forgive

2. Recognize the Wrong You’ve Suffered Doesn’t Entirely Represent the Other Person’s Identity

Do you want to be judged by the terrible things you’ve done to someone?

No one wants people to view them by the stupid things they’ve done. But thats what we do when we hold on so tightly to the wrongs someone has committed against us.

God doesn’t view or define us by our sin against Him anymore!

Jesus’ death on the cross was a complete trade.

There was a transaction that took pace.

You receive Jesus’ identity as a son, righteous, and completely sin free.

Jesus received your status as sinner, adulterer, porn addict, murderer, liar, etc.

When you choose not to view someone through the lens of the wrong they’ve committed against you, you are acting like God has acted towards you!

2. Recognize the Wrong You’ve Suffered Doesn’t Entirely Represent the Other Person’s Identity

3. Do not seek to defeat or humiliate your opponent, but seek to win their friendship and understanding

Jesus taught us to overcome every evil with good!

Do good towards those who do evil towards you.

People think that victory comes from dominating someone with their power. There is no peace in this. You will forever be a slave to your desire to dominate. And domination will forever define your relationship with the one whom you dominate.

You will never be at peace. You will forever live in the shadow of your domination, wondering when they will get even. When will they follow up your evil with more. You will forever be a slave to a cycle you can never escape!

But true victory produces peace. Peace that can only be found within restored relationships.

3. Do not seek to defeat or humiliate your opponent, but seek to win their friendship and understanding

So… Love your enemies.

Practically I think this looks like:

After a heated game, taking a moment to force yourself to pray something for something positive for an opponent who treated you poorly.

If you have a teammate who dogs you or insults you regularly, force yourself to come up with a few good things you notice they do… and then, as soon as you can, get their attention, look them in the eye, and compliment them

Now, this probably sounds stupid to someone who hasn’t surrendered to Jesus.

You might be thinking, I’m gonna be a dick to dicks.

I get it. But really think about this question:

Do you even have the ability to do good to those who do good towards you? And actually mean the good you do?

Or are you a slave to hatred, getting even, or vengeance.

Don’t you want to be free?