Love is Action, Love your Enemy.

 Love your Enemy

Hello. Welcome, today. Today we are continuing our discussion on this. Jesus gave us the 11th Commandment.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." John 13:34

We have already discussed 

1-God so loved us.

2-We are to love one another.

Today? Today may be one of the hardest things Jesus even told us to do. It goes against our human nature. Jesus tells us this.

“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. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:43-48

We read this in Luke.

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:35-37

3-We are to love our enemies.

Yup. This is true love. I know, I know. I can hear some of you now. "True Love"?!?!?! "No. I love my wife, husband, brother, sister, mom, and dad. I love those I love. Now those that hate me? Those that want to do nothing more than hurt me and destroy what I care about? Those that use me for their own gain? They can kiss-off." 

See THAT is human nature. Not God's nature. Not spiritual nature. THAT is normal. The feeling that if they hate me, I will hate them back is of the flesh. Let me ask you a question. How many of those people you are talking about actually not only want you dead, they want to and are currently planning your torture and death? Seriously. I'm actually asking you this. Look at Jesus. 

"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Jesus came here knowing that we would do that very thing. He picked the twelve did He not? Knowing that one of those twelve would betray Him? One that He loved and cared for, was with for around three years, and He knew that whole time He would betray Him unto death. 

Look what He told Peter in the garden when they came to do this very thing. 

“Put your sword back into its place. All who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?"

Why did He not? Look here. Read it with me. 

"But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” Matthew 26:52-54

You have read, and heard, John 3:16 so many times, that you may actually be numb to it. Just accept it without much thought. But think about it in this manner. 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Read it in this light. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son," To come to earth, live a perfect sin-free life, healing people, turning people from their sins, and even raising the dead, for the sole purpose, that those He came to save will torture and murder Him in cold blood, in the most gruesome way possible. So that, "whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Were they His friends? Were they those that loved Him? No. But He loved them. The one that tore His flesh from His back with a cat of nine tails? He loved him. The one that placed that crown of thorns on His head? He loved him. The one that placed that heavy cross on His back and forced Him to carry it? He loved Him. The one that drove the nails through His body, hanging Him on the cross? He loved him. The one who pierced His side? He loved him. 

Look at what Jesus tells us again. 

"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." 

Think about what you just read, in the context in which you read it. God loved us so, that even though all this was going to happen to Jesus, He came anyway. or rather, so that, all these things would be done. Why? 

"For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

In the hopes of saving some of them. 

"For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" 

Loving your own is nothing new or extraordinary. It is normal. Even racists love each other and would even possibly lay down their lives for each other. But those other people? They would rather kill them than love them. Should the children of God be like them? Or should we be more like Jesus? 

Paul tells us this as a general rule. Turn to 1 Corinthians 13

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not to love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not to love, I gain nothing." 

Why? 

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things."

This is spiritual love. Love that is given to us by God. Love that is like the love of Christ Himself

"Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."

Crave the best things of God. Seek what spiritual gifts God wants to sow into your life. But never forget this. 

"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13

Yes. We are to love God because He loved us first. Yes. We are to love one another as He loved us. However, do not forget the last. We are to love our enemies. Paul puts it this way. 

"Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:19-21

Let's try to be the children of God we are called to be. Love. Show love. Do love. Be love. Live kind. Show people there is a better way. Life is too short to live it through hate. 

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, You shall be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10

If you want to tell me, comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!!