Like our Father

“You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." 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 despitefully use you and persecute you, so that you may become sons of your Father in Heaven. For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

The Law never taught to hate neighbors. Jesus was not quoting the Law. He was merely stating what was the norm at that time. One clue is that He did not say “It is written” or “Have you not read” as He often would when pointing to the Law. The Law actually encourages the people to act in kindness and consideration with their enemies. (Exodus 23:4,5; Proverbs 25:21)

So, Jesus teaching on a mountain began with the Beatitudes and continued teaching His disciples various different things. One of His teachings is to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. Even by today’s standards it’s a hard thing to ask someone to do. But this is required by the Lord of His disciples. Jesus tells His disciples why they must do this. “...so that you may become sons of your Father in Heaven.” Remember that at the time, Jesus hadn’t been to the cross. So He taught them what was to happen after the redemption of mankind if they obeyed His Word. 

In the New Covenant established by Jesus, we are born again by the Spirit of God and have a new nature, the nature of God. And even though this is true, it is still hard to love, do good and pray for our enemies because an enemy is someone who wants to harm us or destroy us. But God loves them. And Jesus died for them also. If they continue to act like our enemy, they have a terrible end. They are without love in the kingdom of sin and darkness. They are without hope of a future with the Lord. They are without any blessings in their lives. All they know is hatred and bitterness. They need Jesus in their hearts. They need for the Lord to open their eyes to His Gospel so that they can be saved. And if we pray for them, that can very likely happen. They can receive forgiveness of their sins and spend eternity with the Lord. They can be born again by the Spirit of God and become a child of God and our brethren. This is being a child of God is, loving the unloving, the hateful and our enemy.

God is love. If we are born of God and have His nature, then we will love our enemies. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God. The one who does not love has not known God. For God is love. In this the love of God was revealed in us, because God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him.” (1John 4:7-9) Scripture tells us that if we don’t love, we don’t know God and we have not been born of God. The Father demonstrated His great love for us by sending His Son Jesus to take the pain, the humiliation, the suffering and death for us. I knew a lady I was witnessing to who couldn’t believe that God would send His Son to die for us. She thought it was the most horrible thing for a father to do. But it proves God’s love for his enemies because that is what we were before coming to the Lord. “For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10) God the Father proved His great love for us when we were His enemies. Humanly it’s impossible. But with God all things are possible. God’s love in us can love our enemies. If we are born of God, we have His love in us and we can love our enemies.

We live in the dispensation of grace. God has extended His mercy and undeserved favor to mankind during this time. This time of grace will end and then God will punish all His enemies, sinners, nations and leaders of nations. It is prophesied and God’s Word will be fulfilled. “For the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not reflect its light. And I will visit evil on the world, and their iniquity on the wicked. And I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease and will lay low the pride of tyrants.” (Isa 13:10-11-other Scriptures: Proverbs 11:21; Isaiah 3:11; Psalms 31:21; 2 Peter 2:9) This is the time when Jesus returns and places His feet on earth. This is not the Rapture when the saints meet Jesus in the air. This is when there will be no more mercy and no more grace.

Ultimately, loving our enemies is also proof that we are born of God and that we are the children of God. It is impossible to love our enemies without the help of the Lord. It’s not human nature to love, care for and pray for someone who wants to harm us or destroy us. God’s kingdom is nothing like the world. And those who are part of the kingdom of God cannot but love like our Father.