Love Your Enemies
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:44-45
God loves everyone and wishes all to be saved, but he doesn’t treat everyone the same. He blesses and protects the eternal souls of his people but his wrath will come down on those who don’t accept Christ as their Savior. God loves the sinner and hates the sin and we are to do the same. We are to hate the sin in people and pray with a heart of love for lost souls. There is no place in the heart of a believer for hate, except the hatred of sin.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? (Matthew 5:46). It’s easy to reflect God’s love to people who are kind and who show respect and love to us, but a Christian needs to approach everyone with a heart of love, knowing that everyone is created in the image of God. Our hearts must go out to the lost souls that are being used by Satan through his lies, knowing that they are heading for eternal death. A loving caring heart is the best way we can open their hearts to the truth.
When we look at people from a spiritual viewpoint, it’s easy to see how Satan has captured their hearts with his lies; we have the opportunity to present them with God’s truth. If they refuse to listen, we cannot blame ourselves, because if we never try we will never succeed. Remember, Satan is the enemy, not the person we are talking to; the person is an unfortunate lost soul who has convinced themselves into believing Satan’s lies. These people are enemies of Christians and it’s dangerous to be in their presence. All we can do is pray that God would intervene for these souls and open their minds to the truth.
The Lord is concerned about these lost souls and the church has the task of bringing the truth to the lost world. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:36-38). We are to have compassion for lost souls and bring laborers with us as we minister to them. If Christians don’t bring the truth to the world then how will lost souls learn the truth?
Today reflect Christ to everyone including people that you may often avoid. Minister to those who believe Satan’s lies, pray for them, and bring them the truth if they are willing to listen. Fill your heart with God’s love and compassion and walk with his wisdom.
Let’s Pray: Lord, help me to love my enemies and to hate the lies Satan has put into their hearts. Help me to see everyone from the spiritual perspective, to see them as you see them. Guide me through the Spirit to reflect your love to everyone, and to look past physical appearances so that I might look at hearts. In Jesus name, Amen