ICS Daily Devotions
Love Your Enemies
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you.
Romans 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
To love our enemy would be a daunting task without having experienced first-hand the love of God. We cannot use phileo love, a conditional love, to love our enemies. On the other hand, agape love is the unconditional, selfless love that God displayed for mankind when He nailed His son on the cross for us undeserving sinners. In this context, it is described as God’s sacrificial love for us.
Jesus’ admonition to us is to love our enemies. When Jesus lived among men, he never threatened his accusers by saying: “My father is going to come after you.” It is possible to truly love others through the new creation in our inner man. It is not attainable through our own self-effort.
Our natural response to someone who cuts us off on the road would be to imagine that person would disappear off the face of the earth in the worst kind of death possible. However, Jesus was not in the business of getting even. God has given us the ability to love and He expects us to walk it out in our daily living. The Holy Spirit is here to infuse strength into our heart to help us if we are willing to submit to His prompting and leading to walk in love and forgiveness.
King David was able to forgive and extend mercy to Absalom because he experienced first-hand the forgiveness of God in his life. We are to be merciful just as God has been merciful to us. God forgave us even though we do not deserve it.
These are the ways an enemy will persecute or pursue you: by discrediting you, speaking badly about you to the boss so you don’t get promoted or get a pay raise; preventing you from being admired by others in the office or church, they might even think they are doing it as a service to God.
King Saul was jealous of David because he became the center of attention. He heard people chanting: “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” (1 Samuel 18:7). Hence, King Saul pursued David to kill him. At that time, David felt secured in his calling and being a man after God’s heart, he refused to touch God’s anointed. Even though he had many chances to kill King Saul, he refrained from doing so. Instead, he patiently waited for God to promote him according to God’s timing. He didn’t want to do anything unethical or unscrupulous to become king. The key is to know that God will promote us in His timing because He is our covenant partner.
If a person in your company feels insecure over their role, they will start to feel threatened by your abilities, talents, and wisdom. That person will try to bring you down so they can look good in front of the boss. It may even be Christians whose trust is in themselves. Be like David whose trust is in God! When we trust that God has a plan, nobody is able to sabotage it. God opens opportunities for us that nobody is able to shut.
Sermon Series: Total Forgiveness
