There’s a celebrity whose ministry is sharing the gospel with convicts in prison. When her mother was murdered, she struggled for a while because she hated the man who took her mother’s life, and yet she knows it’s part of her ministry to share the gospel. She chose to forgive the murderer, not because it was her duty, but because she reflected on the gospel message she had been sharing. It was difficult because of the complexity of love, but it was the will of God. Of course, justice was served, but the commission was displayed.
Loving our enemies has an implication to our relationship with God. By doing so, we are imitating our Father. Matthew 5:44-45asays, “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.” Jesus was not saying that we need to love to be adopted into God’s family. Rather, He is speaking of the evidence of those already adopted as sons of the Father. Why? Because this is also how the Father showed His love even to the unjust(Mt 5:45b).
The Father knows the wicked hearts of every person. Does God not have more right to pour wrath over the evil ones than we do? He does. But He chose to make the sun rise and to send rain even to those who are unworthy. This is God’s common grace—a grace that He provides for everyone.
Christ points out that loving the lovable isn’t anything new. It is so easy that even the tax collectors, who were branded for their lack of loyalty to the Jews, can show love (Mt 5:46). There is no reward in the kingdom of Christ for something that others were already doing. We can’t even give a simple greeting to those who spoke ill of us (Mt 5:47). Quite understandable if you not for a follower of Christ. It’s a simple task, yet we do it only to those with whom we have good relationships. Everyone knows how to love. The problem is everyone does it only for those whom they will gain something, like politicians during election period. Love in the world’s operation, therefore, has always been transactional.
But followers of Christ are not of this world, and their actions and behavior reflect this. The children of the Father will imitate the love of the Father. How do we personally know this kind of love of the Father? Because we ourselves were once enemies of God. Was there anything good in us worthy to be loved? Scripture is clear that no one is good not even one. When did Christ died for us? Was it when we were lovable or had done any good? That’s not going to happen. Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
We should realize by now that there is no reason to continue hating anyone. The world can never cause us to hate them more than how we should have been hated by God. Yet God loved us not of anything we have done but only of His loving mercy.
Titus 3:4-6 “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”
Let us love one another, not by tolerating sin, but by pointing others to Christ, so that they too can know that true love is defined by the Father, not by this world, and that they may understand what it truly means to be a child of God.
