Loving Our Enemies

I have read the Bible many times, so it is always amazing and awesome when I read a passage that I have read time after time and Jesus reveals something new and life-changing. That happened this week. And Jesus has kept this passages in front of me all week.

The passage is Luke 6:27-36

It says:

But I tell you who hear Me: Love you enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

This passage challenges me in three ways.

It first challenges me in how I view others.

I struggle with loving my enemies.

I struggle with blessing those who curse me.

I struggle with praying for those who mistreat me.

I want to hate my enemies.

I want to curse those who curse me.

I want to condemn those who mistreat me.

I see in our culture the habit of demonizing anyone we don’t like or who disagrees with us.

Jesus is telling me to love not only those that I don’t like or don’t agree with but also to love those people who deliberately hurt me.

That goes against everything in my fallen nature.

I also see this same attitude of demonizing others happening in the church.

Not only do we many times condemn those outside the church that we have labeled ‘sinners’, but we condemn those inside the church with whom we disagree.

We condemn those who:

Don’t use the right translation of the Bible

Don’t like the same worship style

Don’t hold to the same theological position on things

Don’t belong to the same political party or same political viewpoint

Jesus tells us that the two marks of being His disciples are love and unity.

Jesus tells us that the second most important commandment is to love our neighbor as our self.

Now, I cannot do that in my natural self. I need the supernatural presence of Jesus through the filling of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this kind of loving others and doing good toward them.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is loving others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, it challenges me in how I view my possessions.

When Jesus says that if someone takes something from me, I should not demand it back. I shouldn’t even try to stop them.

I remember when a young man stole my son’s car. When I was asked by the district attorney what I wanted to happen to the young man, I said that I wanted to be reimbursed. I wanted something back for what I had lost. Only after that did I also say that I wanted for the young man to get help.

God is a God of justice. He will make things right, but I don’t have to make that my focus.

I am not to put such importance on my possessions that they define who I am.

I am not to put should importance on my possessions that they are a hindrance to me giving grace and love to others.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is not letting my possessions define me, but letting my relationship with Jesus define me.

Thirdly, it challenges me to use my resources to grow the kingdom and not my bank account.

I don’t invest my life in Jesus and His kingdom.

I give my life to Jesus and His kingdom.

I remember my son coming to me and asking if we could lend him some money so they could buy their first house. I say, “No.” I told him that we would give him the money. I was not going make my son obligated to me. I had the resources and I wanted those resources to be freely given to help him.

I have had people come to me as pastor and ask to borrow money from the church. My response is that the church is not in the business of lending money because we are not a business. We are a family and a family helps others.

I have to say that this passage has me thinking about our whole economic system and the greed that seems to permeate the system.

When Jesus died on the cross, His first words were, “Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” He didn’t say forgive them when they acknowledge Me as the Messiah. It was Jesus praying for God’s grace on all of us.

God loves us unconditionally and pours out His grace on us and His grace is always undeserved.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about giving with no thought of return.

I want, as a follower of Jesus, to be like Him. I want my life to reflect the truth of who Jesus is to the world.

This passage challenges me to allow God to make me into a new creation and to allow Jesus to live His resurrected life through me.

Living like that requires complete surrender of my life and of the authority to control my life over to Jesus.

In the Image and Under the Authority of Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                      Joe