Basis for Loving Our Enemy


….. and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Mat 5:45)


Our human response to one who offended us is usually based on fair and unfair, which means retaliation based on our human judgment and emotions… on how wrongly we have been treated. Our judgment is also one way; it applies to the other and not to me but nary a thought that we may not live up to our own judgment (Matt 7:2).


God looks at the issue of just and unjust, not on fair and unfair. The latter is to get what one deserves, go strictly to the rule without any deviation. Justice is guided by truth, meaning that what is due must be awarded as long as someone pays for it. We know that Christ paid the price on our behalf for our offenses however this truth is often clouded by human emotions; hence the issue of fair and unfair inevitably steps in.


How can I love my enemy? Firstly I have to ask myself if I know that I am justified. Faith and been made just are closely aligned (Rom 1:7, Gal 3:11 and Heb 10:38) which means that I cannot claim to be a follower of Christ if I consider the one who offended me a hated enemy because for the same reason Christ love and died for me (Rom 5:10). What offense can be greater than being rejected and murdered by your own (John 1:11)?


This truth is nothing profound if we do not let our emotions get in the way of God’s love. The reward is too great to refuse, ‘That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven…’ Matt 5:45).