The Scriptures are clear that God tells us to love our enemies. For people in the world this seems impossible and downright foolish. And in a way they are right because without Christ in our hearts we don’t have the ability to demonstrate this type of love. But once we come to Christ not only does the Bible command us to love our enemies but as Christians we now have the capacity to love them. We read in (Matthew 5:44): “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
So, not only are we to love our enemies but as the above verse says we are to bless and pray for them no matter how badly they treat us. As they were crucifying Jesus, our Lord demonstrated this love when we read in (Luke 23:34): “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.’” But you might be thinking that was Jesus who demonstrated that kind of love – how can we as mere humans do the same thing? We read in (Acts 7:60) a similar event in the stoning of Stephen. And we see that Stephen, a mere man, pronounced that same love on his enemies that Jesus demonstrated toward his enemies, when he cried out: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.’”
My friends, when Christ comes into our hearts, He gives us His Holy Spirit and a new nature that can manifest agape love – even toward our enemies. I believe that the Scriptures give us this example of Stephen to show us, as new creatures in Christ, we too have this supernatural power to love even our enemies.
The world might call us fools for loving, blessing, and praying for our enemies, but I believe that when we do this we demonstrate to the unbeliever the incredible power that the message of the gospel has to transform lives. The non-Christian may even be won to Christ by this behavior. (Romans 12:20) demonstrates how this can happen: “On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’”
According to the website, Bibleref.com: “The description of ‘heaping burning coals’ is a reference to Proverbs 25:21–22. In Egypt, there had been a custom to carry a pan of burning coals on one’s head as a sign of repentance. Kindness and forgiveness to those who abuse us, ideally, will make them ashamed of themselves, and hopefully bring them to repent. The strongest, most powerful response to persecution and hatred is to love your enemies.”1
In summary, loving our enemies is something we as Christians are supposed to do. The alternative is to seek vengeance, which the Lord tells us to leave in His hands. And seeking our own vengeance is a poor decision because it usually is accompanied by feelings of bitterness, hatred, and anger, which will only cause us emotional damage, and in the long run even physical harm to our bodies. And when we follow the prescription in (Matthew 5:44) we not only please God but we can also touch the lives of our enemies causing them to possibly repent and even come to the Lord.
Remember we, as believers, are new creatures in Christ and have a new ability to love that first and foremost blesses God, second others, and third even ourselves. I believe that loving our enemies is a wise investment that is guaranteed to bring rich returns now and will help store up for us treasures in heaven!