A man who had reached his 100th birthday was being interviewed by a television reporter.
“What are you most proud of?” the reporter asked.
“Well,” the man said, “I don’t have an enemy in the world.”
“What a beautiful thought! How inspirational!” said the TV reporter. How truly fortunate and blessed you are.
“Yep,” added the man, “I “outlived” – every last one of them (expletive purposefully removed).”
Is that your approach to dealing with your enemies?
Is it just to “avoid and to ignore them,” hoping that you will ultimately “outlive and outlast” them?
Our “enemies” (if we have them) are those who purposefully and knowingly seek our “ill-will.” They “dislike” us – immensely! They “hate” us.
They have a bitterness and a hatred in their hearts toward us. They do not seek our good, but only what is evil.
It is “these people” that we are “specifically” supposed to love.
“Loving our enemies” seems like it goes contrary to what feels right or normal.
Loving our enemies is obviously “an extremely challenging thing to do.”
But our world is filled with too much hatred already, we even make light of “haters” – saying “haters are gonna hate!”
The World is a different place:
In the world people maybe take a more “active stance” toward their enemies and “gossip” about them, “spread lies” about them, “turn on them…and get “others” to turn on them, as well, they gleefully turn them into the police when they do something wrong, and pray that God will “punish them” for their “wicked ways.” They seriously seek the demise of others…
This is how a great many in the world operate toward their enemies.
They go to war with them.
They plan and plot against them.
They run them through the mud time and time again.
They rejoice in their failures and mourn at their successes.
Some people write letters, make phone calls, send e-mails and muster up support among their other friends.
They try to get people to side with them and “join the team” of those who are angry at others.
That’s the way the world often behaves towards its enemies.
It becomes an “us” against “them” kind of situation. It is not pretty. It is not good. It is far from kind and far from being Christian.
We of the church are supposed to be different. We are supposed to be better than that. We are the ones expected to take the high road.
Understand though, what loving our enemies “does not mean:”
It doesn’t mean we support them in what they do, or agree with them, or even necessarily become good friends with them.
Loving our enemies means that when they hate us, we love them in return.
It means that the cycle of hate, the cycle of revenge, the cycle of retaliation stops with us.
You can be angry at a person for what they do, and yet still love them.
Jesus was upset at the people of Jerusalem for how they abused and murdered the prophets, and yet he still shed “loving tears over the city.”
Jesus, as always, is our best example for how to live out such principles.
He never asks us to do something he has not already done himself.
As you read through the Gospels, notice how Jesus loves his enemies.
Take Judas for example.
Jesus wasn’t ignorant of who Judas was or what he was going to do, but Jesus loved Judas anyway.
The next time you read through the Gospels, notice how Jesus interacts with Judas.
He never slights Judas. He never has an unkind word for him.
Jesus loves Judas to the end. His final words from the cross-say everything; “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!”
He loves to the end.
He taught love.
He lived love.
He encompassed love.
This is our challenge. We are to be better than the world. The church above all, should lead the way.
May YOU love “others” as God loves you!
Amen.