(Luke 6:27-28) 27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (NASB)
Acts 11:26 tells us that the followers of Christ, or “The Way,” were first called Christians in Antioch. It was intended to be a derogatory term and meant “Little Christs,” or “Imitators of Christ.” Of course, the church there in Antioch embraced the idea of being imitators of Christ, and therefore embraced the title “Christian,” and so it has carried through until today. We call ourselves “Imitators of Christ.” But what does this have to do with loving our enemies?
Well, let’s look at Romans 5:6-11.
(Romans 5:6-11) 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (NASB)
Look closely at verse ten. Right there it says we were enemies of God!!! We were enemies of God because we had sinned. Yet, in spite of our position as enemies Jesus loved us enough to descend from Heaven, become human, live life just like you and me (yet He did it without sinning), die on a cross to pay for the sins of humanity (you and me), and then most importantly, He was resurrected and lives now at the right hand of God the Father. Christ reconciles us to God, that means He makes us right with God. Right there is the crux of the matter. Christ loved us while we were enemies and if we desire to imitate Him then we must also love our enemies.
Jesus doesn’t give us a choice in this. It is a command not a suggestion. Love them, do good to them, bless them, pray for them. I’m not saying this is easy, but it is right. It starts with forgiveness (which is a whole separate point of teaching) and choosing to forgive your enemies. Here is the secret which isn’t explicitly written out…when you forgive, love, do good, bless, and pray for someone it is really hard to stay enemies. Don’t stay enemies. You may not become best friends, but if you are investing in someone’s life enough to pray for them, you might just see God move in their life bringing them to accept Christ. Now of course I cannot guarantee every enemy you have, who you love on will come to accept Christ, but I do guarantee if you love them you will be obeying Christ and that alone is worth your effort.
Another point which isn’t stated in the text is; do not go out intending to make enemies. Jesus tells us following Him will bring us enemies. But you being a jerk is not the same thing. If someone hates you because of Christ, good for you, it just means you are glorifying the name of Christ. If someone hates you because you’re obnoxious then your witness for Christ is damaged and worthless. Don’t be a jerk.
So, the bottom line is this, don’t look for enemies, but love the enemies you gain because of your genuine witness for Christ.