By Andrew Mayende.
Your highest calling as a Christian is to love everyone. The Bible instructs you to love God with all our heart,mind and soul and to also love your neighbours as much as you love yourself. What does the Bible mean by instructing you to love your neighbour?
The call to love stretches far beyond your personal acquaintances. Your neighbour includes your family, professional colleagues and enemies too. But then, just how can God insist that you love your mean neighbour next door or co-worker who has endlessly been spreading malicious statements about you? How can you be expected to warm up to those people who are so cold hearted, unloving and unkind to you?
In Matthew :43-45, Jesus teaches about loving enemies:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:43-45.
From this scripture, it’s clear on what God wants in as far as loving your enemies is concerned. Why is it important to love your enemies?
It is a command from God:
You should love your enemies because God commands you to do so. All commands from God work for your good. Moreover, you should love your enemies because it is one of the marks of having Christ in you and by this, God expects you to heed to His command.
The Bible in the book of Matthew 5:44-45 states:
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”
Because God Loved Us First:
You have no excuse not to love everyone, including those who persecute you. Any level of love that God calls on you to show to another person has already been extended to you by God more deeply and freely than you can understand.
God loved you first, long before you even knew Him. He has wholeheartedly extended this unwavering love to you and expects you to reciprocate the same to your enemies.
In Romans 5:10 Paul explains the extent of God’s love for you long before you even knew him:
“While we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His son.”
You Become A Witness To God’s Goodness:
Revenge is one of the vices that happens in modern culture everyday. People are accustomed to hating those who hate them but as a Christian, loving your enemies is one of the most powerful tools towards being a witness as a child of God. God has called you to be salt and light in this tempting world, to be a model for His glory.
You Live A Free And Peaceful life:
Forgiveness is not for your enemy’s benefit, it is for you. Loving and forgiving your enemies actually frees you. Open your heart and sincerely release all the pain and past hurt through prayer and re-establishing a strong relationship with God. Through this, you’ll experience a new lease of life, freedom, happiness and inner peace.
What Should You Do As A Step Towards Loving Your Enemies?
It can seem impossible to overcome hate, bearing in mind the pain that might have contributed to your heart’s state. The beauty of it is that with God, everything is possible. Confess to God about your struggle to love your enemies and ask Him to help you understand how to love them and free your heart.
The power to be forgiving and merciful is that you have been satisfied with God’s mercy towards us. Most importantly, the ultimate reason for being merciful is to glorify God. Cast your burdens unto Jesus and let Him free you of all the hate for a fully satisfying and peaceful life.
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