Love Your Enemies

When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, surely He doesn't mean the pot-head who cheated on your sister with 6 different girls and ruined 3 of your family's cars while your parents provided a place for him to stay and food to eat just to have him turn around and get your sister in trouble with the law with an impending felony, right?

I'm not kidding, this is a real situation. With ZERO exaggeration, believe it or not.

So here's a hard question: Does Jesus call me to love him?

It's funny because when I see these words in my Bible to love my enemy (Matthew 5:44), the image I have of enemy is someone who hates me for no reason. Someone who has done a million bad things to me. Someone who has stolen from me or hurt me.

I don't think of the guy who tried to ruin my sister's life.

I don't think of the woman who unashamedly stares at my other sister who is disabled.

I don't think of the man who tells my dad off after he refereed a game over one stupid call - my dad who is the most honest, wise man I know. My dad who breaks his back and gave up his dream to be our provider, caregiver, and supporter.

I don't think of people I've seen who ceaselessly take my mom for granted and disrespect her despite the fact that she has sacrificed for them and has forgiven them an infinite amount of times without them even saying sorry.

But these are my enemies. It's easy to love people who hurt me, but when someone hurts or disrespects my family, an all consuming anger rises within me that begs to be set free in the form of physical, verbal, or virtual retribution.

I just want to tell someone off.

But is this what it means to love? Is this what Jesus means by love your enemy?

This is an EXTREMELY hard question for me.

Because I feel like if I am not hateful to these people, I am condoning what they do. I feel like I am the one disrespecting my family.

Maybe this is where the bit about hating your mother and father comes in...

"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."
Luke 14:26

This is really hard to swallow. I don't like it. It feels wrong. It goes against everything the world has taught me since I was born. 

These are the moments when my faith is truly tested. I started to type a very firm, defensive message to this bozo who messed with my sister, and I instantly felt convicted. The world tells us that this is a fine thing to do. In fact, it tells us that this is the RIGHT thing to do. But really, this is the opposite of right. And many people look at these words of Jesus and completely twist them to fit their comfortable lives so that they can hold onto their pride and never have to actually reduce themselves to the level of LOVING evil people. 

Wake up, world. The words of Jesus are pretty clear.

These are the kinds of people we are called to love. And NO, your attempt at telling them off and calling it "tough love" does not count. There is a time for rebuking, but when it's done with an attitude of anger and followed with the cone of silence, a death glare, or a punch in the face, IT IS NOT LOVE, OKAY?!

I still have to work through what this means. I don't know how to treat people like this. People who obviously have a lapse in any kind of moral judgment. People who seem to have mean spirits and cold hearts. But what I do know is that I am not called to judge them. Even many Christians would disagree with me on this, but I believe the words of Jesus were clear, and I have no intention of twisting them - because every time I've done that in the past, I've looked back with regret and despair. 

So, how do I love people like this? Well...I don't know. I think it takes practice. I know it won't be easy. I know it will take FAITH in God and TRUST in His commands. But I also know that those who seek the kingdom first and its RIGHTEOUSNESS will have worldly "necessities" added to them (Matthew 6:33). So I will trust in the word of God and follow Him even when it's hard and I don't like what it requires of me. I will trust that this is for His glory and that it will bring me joy in the end. 

Will you join me in being radical about following Christ? Will you join me in loving the unlovable? I'm not talking about the dirty, poor and forgotten; I'm talking about the disgusting, rotten, filthy, and corrupted. Because how much better are we, really? Because the Bible tells us that even our best acts are filthy rags before a Holy and Perfect God (Isaiah 64:6). But still God loves us with a love immeasurable and a grace inconceivable. Oh, that He loved us while we were still His enemies!! (Romans 5:10) 



Oh....   How He Loves.