Love Your Enemies

April 16, 2018

Rev. Jason Gaskin

This very teaching defines what it means to be someone who follows Christ. Jesus knows how the world works...that if someone harms us... we harm them back in the same way. This is natural. We love those that respect us and hate those who are against us. There are many Christ-followers who have many years under their belt. They are faithful in church and missions.... yet this one teaching seems to weigh them down. In fact, it is this teaching that makes us radically different from everyone else. I recently asked some folks if they regularly prayed for their enemies. Silence befell us. I could feel the need to move on... let's please talk about something else. I pressed... why is it hard to name our enemies name when we pray? Silence again... You reading this... might have not even got to this sentence... you have already moved on to something else... For those of us inquisitive enough to stay... Jesus is on to something... maybe we don't name them... because we don't buy into this whole "love your enemy" teaching. Bless Jesus' heart... he just doesn't get it. Yet all the while... you might not pray for our enemy... but they do keep us up late into the night... we play out scenarios of what we might say to them if we could give them a piece of our mind... or how we might harm them right back. Maybe Jesus was pointing out... our choice to be in bondage to the harm of our enemies inflict upon us. This difficult teaching maybe... is meant to FREE us... maybe Jesus is right... love does give us victory. Try a new way to live... no longer in bondage to your enemies... but freed by the love and grace of Jesus Christ.