24/03/2021
“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, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ... Matthew 5:43-48 ESV
Picking up where I left off on my previous post, when God commanded the people of Israel to love their neighbors, their neighbors where their enemies, and the Bible commands us to to love them, to bless them, to pray for them, to feed them and to give them water if they are thirsty.
I love how Jesus goes into detail explaining the extent of this command, so no one can have any doubt... well, kind of.
Praying for our enemies is hard. Along God to make himself known to someone who hurt you is a difficult thing to do. But it’s ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and knowing that is a huge relief to me. We can make a decision to forgive and it might take time, but God will do his work in us. Thank God.