Day 16- Loving My Enemies
I saw a video clip this morning on the
news from a security camera. Apparently what happened
was a woman was being attacked, and a homeless man
runs in to save her. The homeless man gets stabbed
by the attacker. You see the homeless man chasing
the attacker off, and then the homeless man falls
to the ground, bleeding. For over an hour people walk
by this helpless man, bleeding on the sidewalk and
no one does anything. Finally someone calls for emergency
services and they arrive about an hour and twenty
minutes after the attack. The homeless hero died before
they got to him. The homeless hero has a name, Hugo
Alfredo Tale-Yax.
A few days ago I talked about LOVE,
the fact that God is love, that He calls us to love
Him and our neighbors, and that every commandment
relies on that love. Jesus even says that there is
no greater love than to lay one’s life down
for his friends, which He also demonstrated for us.
And if that’s not enough love, Jesus also calls
us to love our enemies. My question is, am I capable
of that?
In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus begins by
talking about the commandment to love your neighbor.
Somewhere along the way, religious leaders started
preaching love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But if you look back at Moses’ writings, it
never says to hate your enemy, only love your neighbor.
Your neighbor isn’t always a friend, it’s
the person next to you. Jesus says specifically in
verse 44 to “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…” If we are
called to love, bless and pray for our enemies, how
much more love, grace and mercy are we to show to
strangers and friends?
I think about that homeless guy who
was laying face down on the sidewalk after being stabbed,
bleeding to death. People walked by and glanced at
him, but kept walking. Unfortunately in our society,
there are a lot of pre-conceived notions about homeless
men that end up keeping us at arms length from them,
oftentimes unwilling to help in any way. This particular
homeless man helped a random stranger, and ended up
giving his life for that stranger. This homeless man
reflected the love that Jesus has shown to us and
asked us to give to those around us. I keep asking
myself if I’m reflecting that same love. My
honest answer right now: oftentimes to my friends
and family, occasionally to strangers, rarely to enemies.
This is something I’m convicted
of and know I need to work on. I need to be able to
give love without needing or expecting it in return.
I need to be able to reach out to those around me
that need a helping hand, simply because I’m
able to help. Regardless of how I’m treated
or how I feel, I need to still love and pray for those
who hurt me.
Lord,
Thank You for the uncomfortable conviction You have
placed on my heart. It doesn’t feel good to
realize how much I’m lacking, where I fall short
or what I need to work on, but thank You for opening
my eyes to these things so I can begin to change.
You’ve commanded it, so I want to obey. And
I know the only way I can obey a commandment to love
like You is by listening to You, trusting You, and
being willing to walk out whatever it is You’re
calling me to do. Lord, place on my heart a desire
to love those around me, whoever they are and whatever
they’ve done. Let me see them through Your eyes
Lord.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
