Today we remember those over the last 200+ years who have served in our military and who have fought for the freedom of our country. We want to thank all of you have selflessly served and sacrificed so that we may live with so many freedoms. In war, especially pre 1950, it was easy to know who your enemy was in battle, but since then, Vietnam, Korea, and recently the war on terror, the enemy has been increasingly difficult to identify. No longer can you see the enemy coming or even identify who the enemy is. Similarly, I believe that in our personal lives, it has been increasingly difficult and confusing to identify who or what the enemy is in our lives and thus making it almost impossible to effectively practice loving our enemies.
Read I Peter 5:8-10 and Gal. 5:7-10. Peter provides a clear reminder of who your real enemy is. We must be reminded of this Truth as we deal with the day to day, week to week, month to month relationships that get broken and turn adversarial. There are real people who hurt, betray, mislead, and are out to get you, but they are just pawns in the bigger game that your true enemy is playing against you. To effectively and authentically love people that we call our enemies, we must adopt in the perspective that all people are made by God with a purpose, for a purpose, designed for His love. None of them were created by God to be your enemy, but the enemy has used them to wound you, frustrate you, and ultimately cut in front of you to distract you from living the life that God has planned for you.
For Today: We need to clearly identify those that have hurt us, those that have positioned themselves as our enemies, whether that be an old boss, an overbearing or absent parent, a bully, an old voice in your head that constantly tells you that you don’t matter, or an abusive spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend. These are real people that have made real decisions that have cut in on the plans God has for you and the pain and consequences to you are real, but the only way you begin to be able to love them is to remember Ephesians 2:10 is true for you and them if we choose to follow God. It is the devil, the real enemy who has snuck in on them and offered them an alternative ending to their lives. They are misguided people who need to experience and live in the Truth of God’s love and plan. So, if you are up for a challenge make a list of your enemies and then one by one read through them and ask yourself if you believe that they were made by God for a great plan and are valuable to Him. If you can do that, loving them is right around the corner.