What is the most difficult thing you have done in your life ? We may give many list of difficult things like Sacrificing food, Reducing the extra weight you put in, cracking a NEET or JEE exam, the difficultly varies according to individual.
Have you ever tried to Love your Enemy ? In my view that’s the most difficult thing that we can do in the world. Jesus Teaches these principles of Love in Luke 6:27-36
Love your enemies
' “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ' Luke 6:27-30
Look at the way Jesus starts “But to you who are listening I say” this may be another way of - saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" Jesus is telling those who would follow Him what practices are required of them.
Love is defined by what Love Does, if we are loved by someone we show that Love back, but Jesus is telling Love your enemies.
Definition of Enemies - “a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent”
Jesus is telling us how we have to treat our enemy - the one who hates, curses, mistreats, attacks, and takes advantage of us. This is the one who is diametrically opposed to your best interest. He is the one whom you love to hate. He is the one who offends you and seeks to bring you down.
This defies all the worldly teachings we have done and learnt, its to do the opposite of the worldly beliefs and teaching, but if you are follower of Jesus you are to follow this as the word starts ““But to you who are listening I say”, this is not for the one in the world, but for the one who calls himself as a follower of Christ.
The response to what Jesus called is something humanly not possible, but if we depend on Jesus and say, “I surrender this weakness of mine, when I see this individual I get angered with hate, the words they spoke is deep in my heart and mind, the bitterness is rooted in my heart I surrender in to you, every time I see them the resentment in me makes me more angry on them”, Jesus will take that weakness of us and cloth us with his Christ love to us to start giving the divine Love so that you Love your enemies.
Once you surrender the weakness, the Divine love Jesus will give will be of these qualities of Love as described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. '
Why did Jesus asks us to do this “Love your enemies” because the enmity promotes bitterness, resentment, anger and many other Sin which is coming directly from Satan. Jesus is pure and holy God, he is against Sin.
The world teaches to conquer with Bad for Bad, but Jesus teaches us to conquer the Bad with Good deeds of us, so that the Love you show will manifest in enemy’s heart due to the supernatural act you do and it will also make them come to Jesus.
We normally justify and have many valid reasons to show our anger and resentment even when there is no wrong in our side while the other person may be at fault, what Jesus says shows the love against the person, but don’t love the Sin or the wrong side of the person. Once you show the Love ,the sin and wrong doing of the opponent will be removed by me as the light of Jesus has the power to remove all the impurities of a person.
Actions of Love
' Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 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. ' Luke 6:27-31
We may say yes Lord, I prayed to you and I have got the love that you described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and I am good.
Jesus is a Good teacher, See the way he teaches “Love your enemies,” Notice the “,”
The actions follow after the “,”
Do Good to —> The one who hates you the most
Bless the one —> who curses you
Pray for the one —> who mistreats you
one who slaps you one side —> turn the other side and show
if one takes your coat —> Give your shirt as well
if one takes some thing from you deliberately —> Give without holding back
All he wants us to do “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” As you would do something very sincerely and earnestly to you.
Humanly it’s impossible to do these Actions unless you are dependent on Jesus and only with the spirit of Jesus in us, it can be done. As our human self is wired to the opposite of what Jesus has taught us to do.
Rewards of Actions
'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 children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ' Luke 6:35-36
Read the actions which Jesus describes in this passage Every thing followed by a “,” (Comma)
But love your enemies
do good to them
lend to them without expecting to get anything back - World love is defined with expectation by what Love Does, but Jesus says do without expecting anything.
Jesus is Holy and Sin is an enemy of holiness, Jesus showed us this kind of Love when we were sinners, Gave his only life in Cross so that we are redeemed from the wrath of God for the sins we commit. By the blood of Jesus we are washed and purified so that we may never sin again.
The rewards are
a. Then your reward will be “great” - What does this great signify ?
It signifies the Grace and mercy we receive when we make error in his eyes
It signifies to protect us from God’s wrath
It signifies to give us the spiritual blessing as described in Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. '
It signifies the spirit of God to guide us and lead us 'Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ' Galatians 5:24-25
b. you will be children of the Most High -
“you will be children” This is the highest blessing we can get from God
Do you ever reward any one to be your children when they do something good for you ? if you do then the whole worldly blessings will be given to them as inheritance to them.
Same way, when Jesus says “you will be children of the Most High” - he is giving us the right to inherit all the powers of Jesus that raised him from the cross to fight Satan’s deceptions
The promise for his children to fight the worldly battles for us - “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
Same Christ Power is given to us - 'and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ' Ephesians 1:19-20
“of the Most High” - when you Read Genesis 1:1 NIV. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
He is the God who made the heavens and earth. The promise is we are his children with such a power and might.
Because are his children we have a place in his everlasting heaven till eternity. See the how the life at heaven will be Revelation 21:1-4 'I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. '
Actions we can take We can take an action to identify one person whom we have a huge bitterness against or someone whom we are at odd with and ask God to show his love so that we can follow his actions. Ask God to do this with one person only, once you are done with one person, you choose the next person. God will mature you better after the 1st and make you better after the 2nd and the list goes on… till you are made holy. Holy.. like him..
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