Thank you Sonia M. DeLise for a wonderful reminder....
JESUS' SECRET WEAPON:
❤️LOVE!
28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. (Luke 6:28 NKJV)
"In its deepest sense love is the prerequisite of Christianity. To feel toward enemies what others feel toward friends. And such love is the achievement of the Holy Spirit. We cannot achieve it ourselves." Excerpt from F.B. Meyer.
Sinners show their hatred by avoiding us or rejecting us (Luke 6:22), insulting us (Luke 6:28), physically abusing us (Luke 6:29), and suing us (Luke 6:3. This is something we must expect (Phil. 1:29; 2 Tim. 3:12).
How should we treat our enemies? We must love them, do them good and pray for them! Hatred only breeds more hatred, “for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:2. This cannot be done in our own strength, but it can be done through the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5: 22-23).
We must not look at these admonitions as a series of rules to be obeyed! They describe an attitude of heart that expresses itself positively when others are negative, and generous when others are selfish, All to the Glory of God! It is an inner disposition, not a legal duty! We must have wisdom to know when to turn the other cheek and when to claim our rights (John 18:22- 23; Acts 16:35-4. Even Christian Love must exercise discernment (Phil. 1:9-11).
Yes, God’s people have their enemies, even as Jesus did, and we must be Christlike in the way we treat them! We must be giving and forgiving; and we must pray for them, not that God would destroy them, but that He would change them! The best way to conquer an enemy is to make him a friend! Let’s keep our heart right with God (v. 45) and the Lord will produce the good fruit in our lives! Amen!?
In Jesus’✝️ Glorious Name!
