I do not love my enemy

[Gregory Thompson]

If it is indeed the militant groups like Hamas or Hezbollah who have come with the intent to slaughter my family and loved ones, how am I supposed to find it within myself to love my enemy, as Christ commands in Matthew 5:44, where He says, 'But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you'?

This directive seems utterly incomprehensible and counterintuitive in the face of such grave and immediate threats to the safety and well-being of those I hold most dear. It defies all logic and reason to extend love and compassion towards those who seek to bring harm and destruction to my household.

Yeah, the whole thing is counter intuitive.

There is a point to doing all that, but if everyone saw the end consequence, they'd do it out of malice instead of the reason that gives it real power.

 

[timf]

This is where word definitions might add clarity. The bible uses forgiveness in terms of relationship. One might call "letting go" or "putting it behind" as "forgiveness" but I am reluctant to as it can be confusing. I was abused as a child but do not hold on to resentment. My parents were alcoholic yet they had no idea how to live life and really had no chance to follow a different path.

 

[KathrynAragon]

This is where word definitions might add clarity. The bible uses forgiveness in terms of relationship. One might call "letting go" or "putting it behind" as "forgiveness" but I am reluctant to as it can be confusing. I was abused as a child but do not hold on to resentment. My parents were alcoholic yet they had no idea how to live life and really had no chance to follow a different path.

So did you forgive them? I mean, I FORGAVE my rapist. I forgave him. Totally. He did not seek me out. He did not ask me for forgiveness. I just forgave him. I did not just "let it go" or "put it behind me." I FORGAVE him. I think everyone is different.

 

[Simonides]

Not necessarily. I had to forgive someone who raped me when I was a teen. Forgiving him allowed ME to move forward, but I did not contact him and in fact I blocked him from contacting me. But I forgave him and I felt better for doing so.

Amen, amen, and amen.

 

[Palmfever]

If it is indeed the militant groups like Hamas or Hezbollah who have come with the intent to slaughter my family and loved ones, how am I supposed to find it within myself to love my enemy, as Christ commands in Matthew 5:44, where He says, 'But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you'?

This directive seems utterly incomprehensible and counterintuitive in the face of such grave and immediate threats to the safety and well-being of those I hold most dear. It defies all logic and reason to extend love and compassion towards those who seek to bring harm and destruction to my household.

It only seems utterly incomprehensible and counterintuitive when we interpret love as affection. There is a difference between love, like and respect.
While love may exhibit affection and/or pleasure in ones company they are not the principle attributes.
Love is doing the right thing in spite of our feelings.
Liking someone is enjoying their company, feeling pleasant and comfortable when with them.
Respect is earned and may be applied toward specific characteristics in a person, dog ...

So to love our enemies is to pray for them. To ask God's blessing on them. God will not bless evil so we don't need to worry about Him blessing evil behavior. If possible He will open their eyes to their error and correct.
Love then, is righteous, forgiving and kind, but not necessarily backyard barbeques and holding hands at the movie theater.
It is nice to have friends that we like, love and respect.

 

[timothyu]

What just if all nations treated each other with respect and care as needed, leaving them no room or reason to follow radical leaders who wished to do others harm? How long would the weaponry industry and those who profit stand for such behaviour? Obviously without a complete tear down of the systems of man it is impossible for mankind to love all as self. That is an individual effort just as salvation is an individual event.

 

[Joseph G]

If it is indeed the militant groups like Hamas or Hezbollah who have come with the intent to slaughter my family and loved ones, how am I supposed to find it within myself to love my enemy, as Christ commands in Matthew 5:44, where He says, 'But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you'?

This directive seems utterly incomprehensible and counterintuitive in the face of such grave and immediate threats to the safety and well-being of those I hold most dear. It defies all logic and reason to extend love and compassion towards those who seek to bring harm and destruction to my household.

All I know is - I want the faith of this woman. The kind of love for one's enemy that confounded and toppled ancient Rome...

God bless!

 

[com7fy8]

If it is indeed the militant groups like Hamas or Hezbollah who have come with the intent to slaughter my family and loved ones,

Because Jesus has told us to love our enemies, I can see that Satan has arranged things to give us an excuse not to do what Jesus does say to do.

And how did Jesus handle being hated and tortured and murdered? Jesus *prayed* >

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (in Luke 23:34)

And after Jesus prayed forgiveness to those people, look what happened in verses just after this prayer of forgiveness >

One criminal on his cross next to Jesus stood up for Jesus and asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes in His kingdom. So, that prayer of forgiveness, I consider, ministered salvation to that criminal.

So, it is not only forgiving someone, but we *pray* God's forgiveness to the person. It is an investment.

So, do this now. Acknowledge that Jesus is the Lord on the throne. And He is able to manage what will happen. So, trust Jesus who is God's own Son to handle any situation. Do this now, for things actually happening now. Do not just worry and rehearse what you should do in some future situation; but invest in all that God now is able to do through the ruling of His Son Jesus.

"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

 

[Jo555]

If it is indeed the militant groups like Hamas or Hezbollah who have come with the intent to slaughter my family and loved ones, how am I supposed to find it within myself to love my enemy, as Christ commands in Matthew 5:44, where He says, 'But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you'?

This directive seems utterly incomprehensible and counterintuitive in the face of such grave and immediate threats to the safety and well-being of those I hold most dear. It defies all logic and reason to extend love and compassion towards those who seek to bring harm and destruction to my household.

God doesn't expect you to do this by your own power. He asks of us many things that are utterly impossible without his power.

It is counterintuitive and defies all logic and reason to the carnal man, but not to the new man in Christ empowered by his Spirit.

Are you born again? If so, confess it all to the Lord and how powerless you feel to love your enemies, and ask Him to let his love flow through you for your enemies, and whatever else is in your heart to pray.

What God asks of us is utterly impossible in the flesh and in our own power. This is why Jesus willingly came, died, and rose again.

 

[usus]

If it is indeed the militant groups like Hamas or Hezbollah who have come with the intent to slaughter my family and loved ones, how am I supposed to find it within myself to love my enemy, as Christ commands in Matthew 5:44, where He says, 'But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you'?

This directive seems utterly incomprehensible and counterintuitive in the face of such grave and immediate threats to the safety and well-being of those I hold most dear. It defies all logic and reason to extend love and compassion towards those who seek to bring harm and destruction to my household.

The idea of "love" is not something that we would immediately see as to its quality. And also we usually take the love to be something very personal, thus we would take as loving the person, and not the good and true with that person, and not taking care of a person in such a way that he or she can benefit from it. But we elevate our idea of love to the point that the true love is loving what is true and good with another, and love is actually taking care that another receives benefit or improvement as a result of such loving care, then the love, say, to the criminals or those who desire our destruction is taking care that they may benefit from it.
So, the love would have to do with the exercise of justice with an end that the neighbors may improve as a result, that is, we do not desire their eternal destruction, nor should we desire even to revenge on those, but, in case of some criminals, we desire that the criminals may change their ways to the better. That would be to love them instead of hating them. If the criminal do evil, they are led by the evils frowing from the hells with them and by means of them, and so we do not love that evil, but as to the persons themselves we estimate them according to the quality of their good, and without revenge, defending ourselves from their evils, still have a goal of their improvement, if possible. It is not easy, to put it mildly, in the case of the active criminal activity, but everything is possible with the Lord.
So the compassion to them is to desire their improvement ultimately, but again, it does not take away our need for self-defense and rejecting the evils that we are facing from.

 

[Earthbear]

We should love others on the condition that they do not harm us.

Hi,

Romans 12:19 says it is not for us to avenge but for God, Proverbs 17:11 mentions the messager of death or as some say the 'merciless official'

Yes you are right in that people in Hamas have sinned, they are experiencing the retribution of God. The leader of Israel has been fiercly opposing them with a powerful military, there is accountability.

In America today I feel the rust belt or Bible belt is also experiencing retribution for times they were overlooked but also at the same time some people are going too far, it is important we look to God and pray for the nation and strive for balance.

Loving your enemy does not have to do with accountability as Hebrews 12:6 says God actually disciplines those he loves.

All modern humans today I believe are descended from Noah and God made a covenant with Noah, the modern humans here then descended from very upright people but they become distorted from being alienated from God.

Clans or kinsmen experience misunderstandings or small mistakes, they can escalate to violence and war. When you do not love your neighbor it creates a chasm or a bridge that can seperate and alienate people.

In a perfect world God wants people to repent, that includes Hamas to stop killing people, if we do not love our enemies we can't be any different from the world but also we never can provide a chance for people to repent.

Romans 12:20 also says in loving your enemy you are actually heaping burning coals on them, it can be like a furnace or refinement to create people who are more pure. This does not mean not waging war but what it means is you have captured areas you follow the laws, you treat your prisoners with the sanctity of life, if you are to execute them for their crimes you give a trial and have evidence before you convict them for example, it is things like this that help ensure we have a just cause.

 

[Palmfever]

If it is indeed the militant groups like Hamas or Hezbollah who have come with the intent to slaughter my family and loved ones, how am I supposed to find it within myself to love my enemy, as Christ commands in Matthew 5:44, where He says, 'But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you'?

This directive seems utterly incomprehensible and counterintuitive in the face of such grave and immediate threats to the safety and well-being of those I hold most dear. It defies all logic and reason to extend love and compassion towards those who seek to bring harm and destruction to my household.

Perhaps you are thinking about it wrong.

Some seem to equate love as affection.
Affection may accompany true love, but love is not a feeling.
As Don Francisco put it, 'love is not a feeling, it's an act of your will.'
Love is doing what is right at times, in spite of how you feel.

I see my relationships with others in 3, maybe 4 different catagories;
1. Love
2. Like
3. Respect
4. Friendly until I have more information

You've read my view of love. Doing what's right regardless of how you feel.
2. Liking someone is different.
When we like someone we enjoy their company, we have pleasant companionship. Our relationship is easy most times.
We may disagree at times, that is common in humanity.

Respect may be given even if we don' particularly like them much.
We respect junkyard dogs.

Love can remain as love even when we don't respect or like someones actions.
There are those destined for destruction, I don't know their names. I may detest their behavior but I can pray for them.

Don't beat yourself up or feel guilty because you don't like evil men. No one in their right mind does.
God loves them, but He does not like who they have become. And in spite of His love He will destroy them.

Satan will attempt to confuse us of not loving as commanded. Don't listen. Tell him to beat it, and pray that God will open their eyes.
If you feel dispair as a result of the evil on the world, look at God, not them.
There are more self serving donkeys on earth than righteous.
And it will get worse.
Don't look at men and be disappointed with God.
Look at God and pray for the deaf, blind and ignorant.