"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you."
—Matthew 5:44
Pretty terrible. I'd be upset, I know you the reader would be too. Jesus however, knows all about people spitting in his face, and hitting him, and talking behind his back, and then killing him after he healed and fed people.
Now, we aren't Jesus, thus this is a difficult concept for most people. Love people even when they hate me?
So, to make it easier, some people change it to “be nice to them even when they aren't nice”. While this is a nice thought, and very easy, it's not the same thing. The kind of love Jesus was talking about, is not just being nice. He demonstrated his love by going hungry to feed someone else, by healing them when they were sick, by casting out demons, and by intentionally letting himself get caught to die for everyone who cursed him…
We are not the word made flesh, and we are not God made man. This may seem like a tough standard, but it’s easy once you learn to die to yourself.
Luke 9:23-25
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
Does anyone know what he means by “deny himself”? Its simple. Reject all your negative or sinful impulses. Don't get angry, don't lust after a woman who is not your wife, don't think of yourself better than someone, be gentle and humble even when you don't feel like it. Etc etc.
In short, don't be ruled by your emotions, impulses, or thoughts.
RULE your feelings, impulses, and thoughts.
Speak to your soul, intentionally ignore your darker side and take every thought captive.
Philippians 4:4-8
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness[d] be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned[e] and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Peace will be upon you when you go out of your way to make sure you don't have what someone I know once called “stinkin thinkin”.
Only when your mind is fixed on what is good, pleasing, holy and pure, can you love your enemy.
Proverbs 25:21-22
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
22 for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.
I'm pretty sure the above proverb (the old testament reference Jesus made found in Matthew 5:44, today's scripture) would be a lot harder to obey if you kept thinking how terrible your enemy is.
However, if you understand your enemies actions, and where their pain comes from, then this lesson becomes possible. think to yourself: “wow, Jesus died for this person too. They must have had it rough, I know they are better than this. I know they have talents they can use to light up the world and are beautiful on the inside.”
One of my Pastors once told me, “thinking the best about someone, allows you to love them well.”
When I realized that all of the “think positive” philosophies out in the world had a biblical origin, I laughed on the inside. It's the most useful lesson in life. When your eye is filled with light, your whole body is filled with light, and the world gets a little bit brighter.
The light the world website again has some applications:
Reach out to apologize to someone you may have hurt or offended.
Focus on being kind to the person for an entire week.
Stand up for your peer in front of a bully.
Like the last two times, while these are simple and easy to do, lets go deeper.
When someone is rude to you, yells at you, or angry at you, give them a hug. (no i'm not kidding)( they may think your weird, but imagine just how much of an impact you will have)
Tell someone who is offending you, or is bad mouthing you behind your back, that you understand them. Kindly and gently remind them “I understand your hurting, and I forgive you”
Go out of your way to make sure the people who like you the least, see the best most Christ like parts of you. Even if you don't believe in Jesus
One time, this christian friend of mine, baked his employer a cake when she fired him. She was a lesbian, and married to her wife, and this man vehemently disagreed with that. He denied himself, and loved her anyway. He baked her a cake, and brought it to her house and thanked her for everything. She offered him the job back, but he didn't want it back. His goal was not to bribe her, or to coax her to giving him something. His goal, was to love her the best way he could. This friend's name is Dennis.
I have another friend, who always gave a guy rides to 3 church services every Sunday for a year. He yelled at her, manipulated her, cried in her car, and even said very hurtful things to her. She never once gave up on him, and always hoped for the best. This friend's name is Maria.
Another friend, gave free Kung Fu lessons to a broke college student for over 2 years. This student was selfish, and could have easily paid for the classes if he had learned to spend his money wisely. This friends name is Desmond.
Another friend, dressed an emotionally unstable and possibly psychotic guy in his best suit for a wedding the guy was invited to. This friend is named Joshua Gomez
Another friend of mine, never got mad at, never yelled at, never condemned, and never stopped allowing a guy into his home even after he said some of the nastiest things to all their mutual friends and acquaintances. They read the bible together, shared meals together, and even played frisbee together. This friend is named Matthew.
I have another friend, who always took a guys call even at 5am, to listen to him cry and sob on the phone, just to help him feel better and gain some clarity. His name is Josh Fizzels.
I have another friend who gave a guy who made one of his team mates super uncomfortable a spot serving with him in a ministry. They set up and tear down lighting and sound equipment together every Sunday night, even when the guy is needy, demanding, and inconsistent. This friend's name is Alex.
I have another friend, whom even after listening to a guy complain, and berate him, and demand more of his time than he had, dragging him away from his family, still offered that guy a job and helped him get the state license to do it. This friends name is Brad.
I have another friend, who even after being lied to, manipulated, and romantically pursued by a guy, still takes the time to make him feel welcome through conversation whenever they run into each other. Her name is Sabrina
I have another friend who always went out of his way to help an abusive man out of a jam when it was an emergencies. Even through rage fits, and cursing, threats and lies, this friend stood there and took it all and never got mad or returned the hate. this friends name is Seth.
I have another friend, whom even after his wife was insulted, kept making lunch plans with the guy who insulted her. This friends name is Ryan.
I have another friend, whom even after a guy broke her trust, and doesn't pay for her services, still continues to give him free acupuncture treatments in exchange for poorly done landscaping work. This friends name is Rainey
I have another friend, who let a homeless man stay in his apartment. No matter how weird it got, or how much of a burden it became, he continued to serve this homeless man as best as he could. This friend is named Josh Pearsaul
I have another friend who after reading 1 year of long, angry, and incoherent emails from a guy, still greets this man with a smile every time they run into each other. This freinds name is P. Urlich
I have another friend, who after a guy wasted his time, scared his 17 year old daughter, and told him the craziest story about a girl who ruined his life, still prays for and welcomes the guy into his home once a week every week. This friends name is Chris
I have yet another friend. Who no matter how much the person they loved tried to pull away, they kept reaching out, knowing this person could be a light to the world someday. This friend was Jesus.
Thanks for reading.
Special thanks goes out to Maria, Matt, Chris, Josh Fizzels, Josh Gomez, Josh Pearsaul, Dennis, Alex, Brad, Sabrina, Ryan, Rainey, Seth, P. Ulrich and Desmond, for representing how to love your enemies, hoping they would change because of the love of Christ you represented in their lives. You have all represented Jesus to countless people, and you helped make in impact in peoples lives very special way. Thank you all for being a friend :)
Again, thanks to 
