Not Like, but LOVE Your Enemy

LOVE your enemy. Yep, I said those three words. One of life's greatest challenges and the hardest things we as Christians have to do is love those who hate us. I don't like using the word hate, but your enemy definitely doesn't love you, so there is no other way around it. I stole some of what I am going to talk about from my preacher's sermon from this Sunday...I have to give him credit for inspiring today's post!

Loving your enemy is different than 'loving your neighbor as yourself', treating those you encounter with kindness is a much easier task. Having to be nice to your enemy, well folks that is a different ball game.

I remember my mom telling me as a kid "Aeron, just kill them with kindness"...with emphasis on the KILL, haha, just kidding. Or telling me about the verse in Romans, treating them with kindess, "you will heap burning coals on his head". Who wouldn't want to light their enemy's head on fire?..just kidding, but it's easy to view it in such a way. There is a tad bit of truth in that feeling, how many times have we ever wanted to treat our enemy as a friend just to get on their nerves, or light their head on fire? We are human and beautifully flawed.

The preacher put it perfectly yesterday, the point God is trying to make with 'heaping burning coals on your enemy's head' is that by showing them love and kindess you 'warm' them up inside. Lightbulb! It makes better sense when put in those words, right?

But we can't stop at just putting a smile on our face when we run into them and then say, ok I love my enemy...nope, we don't get off that easy! God wants more than that. It's significant he says "LOVE your enemy" not like your enemy!

Here are a few things the preacher shared with us in his sermon to challenge us. Do something for your enemy (on purpose). Pray for your enemy and that their life is blessed (mean it). Seek to understand them (put yourself in their shoes). You might become to more sensitive to why they act the way they do. Find something you two have in common, they and you might be surprised how much you have in common. It is very challenging, but God says to do it for a reason...

Why do this? For one it is like worrying it does nothing for us. It is pointless to hate a person, it does nothing for them or you..and when your enemy sees the light in you they could turn their life over to God, how awesome would that be. You not only make them a happier person, they can now go out into the world and do the same to another! And who knows, you might even make a friend out of it.

Abraham Lincoln said "Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” <---Love!

Romans 12:20 “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.” <---remember not literally! :)

Song of the day, not much to do with today's post...but it's Monday so I thought I would do an encouraging song about how beautiful life is!

"Life is Beautiful" The Afters