You could almost feel the relief in the room. I had poorly planned our message and had over-extended my reach. We read the entire text, but unpacked only the first half of the sermon. It was bad enough that our rights of dignity, possessions, freedoms, and bucks had to be laid on the altar of Christian service, but love our enemies?! It might be a step further than most of us are ready to take! When we ran out of time for the next challenge Jesus was going to place before us, you could almost feel the relief in the room!

• “Haven’t you heard what they SAID about me?”
• “Has anyone told you what they DID to me?”
• “Have you forgotten what self-centered, inconsiderate, assuming, mean and grossly offensive people they are?”
• “They are simply ‘nobody’ to me. They are not a part of my life nor do I have any need for them in my life!”

Be honest; when you hear “love your enemies” at least one, and probably several names, to come mind. Immediately we begin processing the command and probing for soft spots that let us escape the responsibility. There are just some people that, when we are secretly honest with ourselves, we really DO “love to hate.” And that is a pleasure, right, or set attitude we just don’t want pried out of our fingers!

To our great discomfort, Jesus did not say, “Learn to get along with really irritating people.” Nor did He say, “Just avoid them and consider them as nothing to you.” He did not say, “You have your own life to live and I will be happy if you just learn to put up with them.”

No, He said, “Love them!”

• It’s decisional. An attitude adjustment that motivates kind actions.

• It’s deliberate. Observing the need of the one I would love to hate, I take specific steps to meet that need.

• It’s devotional. I add their name and their needs to the top of my prayer list, seeking the Lord’s blessing upon them and grace for them.

There are some people we simply love to hate, and we get pretty comfortable in that settled attitude. Comfortable, that is, until someone reminds us of Romans 5:8. “But GOD demonstrated His own love for US, in that while WE were still sinners, Christ DIED for us.” BAM! He never calls us to do more than He has done. So, love your enemies because WE were HIS enemies and He loved us!

See you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom