Love of Enemies

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” –Matthew 5:43-45

This week I had a bible study with some friends on the topic of “loving your enemy.” We talked about how important it was to love everyone in this world, even people who have hurt us in the past and to remember that every person in this world was created in the image and likeness of God and deserves to be loved and treated with human dignity regardless of how we feel about them. Growing up my aunt always reminded me that even the worst of people in this world still had a mother and father who loved them and offered their children support even when they did wrong. Furthermore, even the worst of people who may not know their parents or have no family still have a heavenly Father and creator who continues to love them even when they reject him or turn away from his love.

What stood out to me from this passage was the verse “for he makes the sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and unjust.” I particularly like this verse because here Jesus tells us that God holds no favorites, and simply loves everyone, even the just and unjust. God freely offers his love and grace to all of creation with the passing of each day regardless of the wrongs or rights we have committed in our lives. In addition, everyone in this world will have to live through the rain or struggle at some point of their life. The challenge Jesus gives us is to love not just our family and friends, but especially our enemies and all of his people. I believe when he uses the word love he simply means “treat every person with dignity and respect” or “wish the best for every person,” and always “treat others as you would treat yourself.” Though this often times may be hard, especially with people in our lives who have hurt us, this is the challenge that Jesus gives us and we must comply.

Today, I challenge you to take some time to pray for someone who has hurt you, maybe someone you consider an enemy; sometimes even offering a prayer for them to God is the most loving thing you can do for a person.