The Alpha of Dealing with Enemies

UV 3010/10000 The Alpha of Dealing with Enemies
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5 v 44

The Lord desires that His children learn to bless and not curse their enemies, to forgive them and love them, not hate. While it is a natural tendency for us to dislike or detest our enemies, it takes supernatural grace to learn to love them and to bless them. Though the Lord in accordance with Old Covenant promises to deliver us from the viles and traps of the enemies, we should not seek their utter destruction. When they seek our help, we should extend our hand of help. We need grace to forgive them for the anger and the hurt they had caused in our lives. Jesus said that the Father is pleased when we help our enemies and pray for their well being.

The rationale is that we were all once enemies of God. But since He has forgiven our unredeemable debts to Him, we cannot hold any hurt or grudge against any fellow human. We have found favour undeservedly in the eyes of the Lord. We are now Friends of God and as Friends of God when we act kindly towards those who do not deserve such kindness, it shows we remember the kindness of the Father to us. We are to forgive those who hurt us as thoroughly, wholeheartedly and promptly as the Father forgave us in Christ. Our behaviour towards our enemies would win them too as Friends of God.


It does not mean however that we should be willing subjects of repeat victimisation by our enemies. We can take steps to ensure that we are not harmed again by our enemies. It only means that once we are hurt or harmed, we should release and not retain that sense of hurt and feed the desire to get even or to avenge ourselves. We should not bring back to our memory or our speech the wrongs done to us by our enemies. We are not to even try to have them repay us for our loss. Since we have freely received forgiveness, total forgiveness from Jesus, we too should freely forgive them. Our model to emulate is Jesus who while nailed to the cross, tortured, bleeding and in spiritual, mental, emotional and physical agony cries out to the Father, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” We too should forgive them as they do know the Lord or His word nor have they tasted His mercy and grace.