“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”. Matthew 5:44
This is probably one of the hardest things to understand from the Bible. Love people who hate you. How can this be!? Who in it’s sane mind would love those who spitefully use and persecute you?
I struggle with this. This is not something that comes naturally for me, and I’m sure not for you either. But this is what God showed me. Let me tell you a story, I’ve been married for 22 years and as you can imagine it has not been all smooth sailing. People say, ”wow! 22 years you must love eachother very much!”. Well, not always. There have been times where our relationship was really shaken. There have been times the pressure was so intense that moving out looked like the only option. I’m not going to bother you with the details but let’s just say my wife is a difficult person for ME to handle. For those who know DISC I’m an S. I like people, I like harmony and peace. My wife is a Dc … in other terms she is a drill sergeant, and she doesn’t believe sugar coating things such as the sandwich theory (Praise, praise, point improvements and close with a praise). But I also know that if God had not paired me up with her I would not be where I am today. If it were not for my wife, I would not have developed this sense of consistent pursuit of excellence. So while hard, indeed a God sent.
At any rate, things were difficult for me and I was struggling badly. Feeling distant, feeling hurt even having feelings of hate. I cried to God “Lord how can this be? Why are you doing this to me? Please help me, fix this situation!” I kid you not, instantly (I really mean instantly) I began to feel love for my wife. A love I don’t remember ever feeling. Deeply connected and reverent. Out of the blues!! Now, remember I was hurt and feeling hateful and just like magic I completely turned around … me, not her.
Then it dawned on me.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love Never Fails” 1 Corinthians 13:4ish to 8
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 22. 1 Peter 4:8
Love changes people, even when they don’t know you love them. It is that powerful. It is like turning on a light switch in a dark room. There is nothing darkness can do to stop light simply because darkness is the absence of light as hate is the absence of love.
But here is the deal, the minute the light is gone it’s dark again.
So the only way for us to “fix” this situation is to prayerfully love our enemies, love the haters, love those who are in darkness, love protesters and those who are against the rules. Love sinners as you are one too. Love Never Fails. I even did a short movie about this verse. You can watch it here
Now the best thing about this is that Love fixes others but also helps YOU. Love is truly a win-win-win. Why 3 wins? Them, You and Pleases God.
But don’t forget, the minute that light switch is turned off it becomes dark again. So love constantly, love abundantly, love indiscriminately , love all. Because after all, Love Never Fails.