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| How do we Love our Enemies? |
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 Enemies from without, enemies from within and sometimes even enemies in our own households. These are the kind of people that don't care if they hurt you, destroy you, ruin you financially, alienate every friend you ever had and would dance on your grave.
It's one of the toughest calls of our Christian walk, to love an enemy. It gets real emotional real quick! Yet luuuuuuuuv, the emotion, is not the answer. The kind of love Jesus demands is more practical and down to earth. It involves some action on our part. What is this love?
The underlined words are an amazing commentary and practical emphasis of the word love. This is real tough love, the kind that's tough to practice.
6:27 "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 6:29 To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 6:30 Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. 6:31 And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 6:33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. 6:36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. |
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| To add a comment to "How do we Love our Enemies?" |
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| June 08, 2008 |
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| Oh Grant! You have no idea how badly I needed to read this blog this morning of all mornings. Thank you for writing. It is still hard...still very hard to do what is to be done...but this helps me to know better how. Thanks again. |
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| June 08, 2008 |
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| Grant, love is action, not just emotion. If we only love those who love us, what credit is that to us? This kind of love is super-natural and comes from God. Great lesson for us all! |
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| June 08, 2008 |
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| Val's comment proves it Grant....you are needed! Thanks for this word from your heart..and the Lord's! |
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| June 08, 2008 |
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I pray for my enemies. Internal and external. One of bosses told me something once, he said, "Joey, you are very good at killing people with kindness". I was surprised.
If you do it over and over and over, it becomes habit. I want to live in peace, therefore I step outside when people argue, or I ask them to step outside, or go for a drive. |
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| June 08, 2008 |
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| Wow Kingdom! We can always count on you to jump in with the encouraging, positive comments can't we! I don't always look at my enemies in such a tone. As a matter of fact...I don't think I have ever looked at my enemies in that tone. It is simply hard to love them. I want to love them as God loves them. That is where the difficult part comes in ....I am not righteous enough to think that I should have the same authority that God does!! EVER! |
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| June 08, 2008 |
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| Good blog :) Ok, I love 'em.....but I don't hafta like 'em.........LOLOLOLOL |
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| June 08, 2008 |
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Val, Tod, Mike, thanks friends.
Juan, as with most statements from Jesus, there is the other side of the coin. Jesus himself will still judge that some people have to go to hell. I suppose there is the question, is the love? I believe it is, if it is giving people what they want, the opposite of heaven. Sadly, I have met one or two people who actually "want" to go to hell. Sigh!
Joey, good advice.
KW, I don't know where you get your theology that the OT God is not what God is like. That is real screwed up man. Jesus is called Lord in the NT, which in the Greek is the equivalent of YHWH, God of the OT. That and many other reasons are why orthodox Christians believe much different to what you espoused. As God of the OT, Jesus was teaching us that law is not the answer, yet we know that HE is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
Tim and Cindy, I hear ya's. Thanks! |
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| June 09, 2008 |
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| Yes, I would defend my family too. :) |
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| June 09, 2008 |
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| Great posting Grant! This is the crux of our Christian walk. Can we in faith offer ourselves and all that we own to someone who wants us dead? "No way!" is the first thought that come into our minds because of the flesh. This is where Jesus' words and teachings become difficult yet significant to us as Christ followers...
To answer Juan, yes we should have forgiven OBL after 911... as tough as that would seem. The first thought that I had (still have...) is to "bomb them back to the stone-age" as I have heard it stated by some friends in the Armed Service.
We fight the flesh each and every day in small and large decisions. Some are easier to make and to follow the path the Lord set before us. Others are more difficult but none the less as important because that shows the world our true character. I told my co-workers the exact difficulty I had in trying to get both of these emotions to come together into one single response because if I follow the Lord's teachings I fail to live what I feel in my heart is the best response to such acts. I know that my own personal testimony on this got them thinking, too.
Should we stone the gays and lesbians because that is what our flesh tells us what "should" be done (scripture is clear that this is a sin)? Yet Jesus also said that we should only let those who are without sin throw the first stone... don't see a whole bunch of hands raised to say that they qualify on that one...
This is why it is not easy to walk His walk... and why it was necessary for Him to act as a sacrifice for us.
God knows that we cannot do it by ourselves. |
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| June 10, 2008 |
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| Great comments LV. |
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| June 10, 2008 |
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| This is excellent! |
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| July 12, 2009 |
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