Loving Our Enemies
Tuesday October 28, 2014
But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:44-45 NLT)
We are to be respectful of our parents, of others, and of others’ property. It is also God’s plan that we obey those He has placed in authority over us. This is difficult when we face those who have been disrespectful to us in a way that has harmed us. Some of us may attribute our low self-esteem or addictive lifestyle to the disrespectful ways we have been treated, either in word or deed. However, no matter how negatively we have been treated by others, this does not nullify the commandments of God. As His children we are to pray for those who misuse us.
It is God’s principle that as we forgive those who have been disrespectful to us, God will forgive us when we ourselves are disrespectful. Forgiving others breaks the bondage to Satan that caused us to stray from being the person God created us to be. When we forgive, we are freed to move forward in a new way of life. God is a righteous judge and we need to let Him judge the other person’s actions. The person who harmed us is still accountable to Him for their wrong doing until they also repent.
Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God. (Ephesians 6:5-7 MSG)God is challenging us to love and respect all people as He loves and respects us. It is easy to respect those who are kind and generous to us but the real challenge is to respect those who spitefully use and persecute us. Today, why not ask our Heavenly Father to put a smile on our face and let our enemies bring out the best in us rather than the worst.
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