You have heard that it used to be said “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” but I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Heavenly Father. For He makes the sun rise upon the evil men as well as the good and He sends rain upon honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? - Matthew 5:43-46
One of the most familiar parables in the New Testament is the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus tells of the encounter with the wounded Jew on the dangerous road to Jericho. Despite social and religious differences and the obvious fact that his wounds will require medical attention, the Samaritan stops to help. His actions express human kindness but even more, God-like love.
Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. This statement in itself is thought provoking but even more so when one realizes the context in which Jesus was speaking. He had just repeated scripture, establishing the love of God as the most important commandment. But then He follows by coupling love of God to love of neighbor, saying the second command is like the first. Jesus knew that His listeners adhered to the saying “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But this was not enough for a Christ-follower whose understanding of love must include a deliberate decision to reach across barriers and demonstrate the character of the Father.
Included in the Sermon on the Mount is a beautiful teaching prayer. Known now as the Lord’s Prayer, a better name might be the Disciples’ Prayer because it was given to them as an example to follow when they prayed. Jesus was teaching them priority – praise God first, recognize Who He is - and then move on to the necessities of life. Embedded in
the middle of the prayer is a request for forgiveness of sins. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We pray these words blindly, forgetting that forgiveness is conditional. Our forgiveness is dependent on our ability to forgive. “As we forgive” Jesus explained. So often our inability to love lies in our inability to forgive. And yet, when we forgive, we are closer to the heart of God than with any other act. For it was in forgiveness that God provided salvation through the blood of Christ.
One reason we refrain from forgiving is because we see forgiveness as thwarting justice. But forgiveness has nothing to do with justice. Justice can prevail. Forgiveness is not for the benefit of the forgiven but for the forgiver. When we fill our hearts with thoughts of revenge, hatred and payback, we crowd out the love and joy which promise peace. In short, we have no room for God.
Disregard for others sometimes plays out in attitudes. But being judgmental carries the feedback of being judged by the same criteria. Jesus uses a wonderful hyperbola when He advises not to examine the speck of dust in your brother’s eye when you have a board sticking out of your own. We laugh at the mental picture but the point is well taken. Judging, criticizing, demeaning – all ways that we can “hate our enemy” while still feeling justified.
So, how do we love our enemy? Or even treat others the way we want to be treated? It must be a decision reached before the situation arises .Jesus says to be prepared, like the wise man who built his house on the rock – before the storms began and the water rose. And so lives based on the truth of reciprocal behavior – treating other people the way you want to be treated by them - prevail. For this is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets. This is the will of God.
Thought Questions
1. Why must Christian love be more of a conscientious decision than an emotional response?
2. Why does Jesus link love of God to love of others?
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