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Scripture
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 5:44-45 KJV
Devotion
Enemy and love. These two words seem opposite. If you think about your enemies, you will probably have memories of when someone has done wrong or harm to you flash through your mind. On the other hand, thoughts of love can bring strong emotional attachments and maybe remembrances like enjoying the delight of Grandma’s apple pie. The two words certainly don’t seem to belong together. However, Jesus specializes in putting things together and doing the opposite of what we imagine to be normal.
He has commanded us to love our enemies! He doesn’t tell us to like them or tolerate them, but rather to love them. Such a strong word for those with whom we don’t see eye-to-eye. He takes it a step further with commanding us to pray for those who persecute us. Now, I will admit, I was thinking this could be a prayer about them stopping their persecution. However, the more we look at this the more we realize it is a deeper prayer, one that blesses them and brings vertical alignment to the Father. What would it look like if you prayed for your enemies like you pray for your children? Again, two things that don’t belong together—your enemy and your children.
We are commanded to love and pray for our enemies so that we may be sons of our Father in heaven. We must remember that we, too, were considered enemies of God (Romans 5:10). It was during our status as an enemy that God displayed His love for us and died. He died so that we could be reconciled to Him. What a marvelous thing when we reflect the love of God even to our enemies. Are you willing to be like God and let your love outshine the offender, even if it means letting the pride and hurt of your flesh die?
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