Pray for your enemies...

Grab your Bible and turn to Luke 6.

There you will meet Jesus on a level plain at the base of a mountain. Your Master has just come down the hill after appointing twelve men to be his disciples and you’re standing a few feet back in a large crowd of Jesus-followers. It’s quiet, sort of. There is the normal background noise. A child’s voice here. A cough there Nothing terribly distracting.

Looking out at you and the rest, Jesus speaks. He talks first of blessings for those who are poor and hungry and grieving. He says we should be happy when people hate us and exclude us and insult us because of him. Says we should rejoice, leap for joy because our reward will be great in Heaven. Then he warns those who are rich and well fed and full of laughter. You are sobered. Can he be serious?

Then he says this...

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If 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. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And 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.

“But 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. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:27-36, NIV)

Love your enemies. You didn’t see that coming did you? Neither did the people gathered around Jesus when he first spoke this radical message. They were shocked.

“Did he just say, ‘Love your enemies’?”

“Nah. Couldn’t have. Must’ve been, ‘Look sea anemones!’”

“Yeah, that makes more sense.”

Deny it with them if you like, but Jesus really did say, “Love your enemies.” And then he told us how. Gave specific directions, commands that are the exact opposite of what we want to do to or with our foes.

“Do good to those who hate you.” Notice the action verb here. Do! Do good! Jesus does not call us to passivity when people hate us. He does not say, “Quietly endure hatred. Just ignore it and it will go away.” He calls us to action. “Do good to those who hate you.”

What does that mean in practical terms? Jesus tells us.

Practically speaking, loving your enemies means that you bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.

Have you done either of those things recently?

Think of someone who has expressed disgust with you, hatred toward you recently. I hope there aren’t many incidences of such behavior coming your way, but there may be one or two. Maybe you have to go back a ways – a week, a month, a year or so. Can you think of someone who has cursed you either to your face or behind your back? Gossip, slander, malicious talk are basically cursing. Destroying your reputation. Wounding your spirit. Hurting your feelings.

Got someone in mind? Have you prayed for that person? I’m not talking about continual prayer even. That would be good. Commendable. But I’m not asking that. Have you asked God even once to work for good in their life?

“Lord, bless this guy who’s driving me nuts. I know that you want him, and me, to become more and more like Jesus. Please do, in him, all that you want to do. Help us both to learn to live at peace in the near future.”

I have had moments of conflict with people. There have been times when a brother and I have not seen eye to eye. When I have been at odds with another, after the initial shock has worn off, God has prompted me, at least once, to pray for my “enemy” and I have obeyed. And when I have obeyed, God has changed my heart. They have ceased to be my enemy. Not that they ever really were in the first place. They were just someone who disagreed with me or who hurt me. My enemy is the devil. Yours too.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV)

Understanding that, stop and pray right now. Pray for your enemy. The person who has hurt you most. The person who has damaged your reputation. The person who has spoken hatefully. Love your enemy in the most practical of ways. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. It may not be fun, but it is the right thing to do. It is pleasing to God. You will be blessed because you obeyed him.

Pray now and keep praying in the days to come. Pray every time hatred is directed at you.

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