Daily Devotional for Friday May 26, 2000

Loving Your Enemies

(Luke 6:27-36)

Today, I want to share a special word which will help set many of you free. So many of you have lost focus on the direction God has for your life because you have let the enemy distract you. Someone in your life, possibly someone very close, has harmed you. They have hurt you. They have done things to you that has caused you to hate them. The Bible, however, tells us to hate no one. Jesus said, ?We are to love our enemies.? The legitimate question you ask is how is that possible after what has been done to me?

You see, in our own weak flesh, it is IMPOSSIBLE to love our enemies or forgive them. That is something we can only do empowered by the Holy Spirit. Only in a relationship with Jesus Christ do we have the capacity to love anyone, let alone our enemies. But as followers of Christ, it is what we are required to do. See, here is the trick of the enemy. You get caught up in hatred of someone, and pretty soon it consumes you. It causes you to become bitter. After a while, you even start blaming God. Remember, our purpose is to serve and glorify Him with our lives. We become distracted from that purpose when our hearts are filled with hatred. Subsequently, the enemy wins since he keeps us from our God-given purpose. That is why we need to go to the Lord in prayer, ask Him to help us have love for those who have wronged us. God even promised, ?It is mine to avenge, I will repay.? Let me put this in another light for you. When we sin, we are directly rebelling against God. Yet, even in our rebellion, God loves us. You see, He never asks us to do something that He hasn?t already set the example for. You will not even begin to know the freedom in your life when you begin loving your enemies. Many of you are bound by your hatred, and the Lord wants to set you free. This message is for you today. Take a minute now, wherever you are, and ask God to forgive you and help you to love your enemies. You can count on my prayers as you follow the direction of our Lord. Of course, Jesus not only told us to love our enemies, He gave us the ultimate example as He loved those responsible for his Crucifixion. Can we do any less?