Love Your Enemies

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:43-45

Love your enemies. We have heard this admonition time and time again. It is so easy to say, but it often seems so hard to do. These three little words that we teach to young children in Sunday school constitute an enormous challenge for grownups. They are usually heard without the rest of the sentence that Jesus spoke as He gave them. He continued to further define what it means to love your enemies, and then He gave a reason for this instruction. “…That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven….” We are to follow the example of our Heavenly Father. He makes the sun shine on those who hate Him just like it does on those who love Him. He sends rain and gives sustenance to the ones who despise Him just like he does for those who honor and serve Him.

How can you become more like God? When someone says something unkind about you, say something nice about them. Do a good deed for someone who openly hates you. Pray most for those who like you least. Love your enemies.