“You have heard that it was sad, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Matthew 5:43-44
I think we would all agree that Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” has some weighted teachings that make us stop and think about the message – like what it means and how we implement it. But, the natural question raised by verses forty-three and forty-four – whether we want to admit it or not is likely to be: LOVE WHO!? There is nothing natural about loving your enemies or praying for those who persecute you (which is defined as hostility and ill-treatment, especially those who differ in origin, religion, or social outlook). However, when we understand the true love of God, who sent His only Son to die for His enemies, Romans 5:10; and when we understand the true love of the Son, who “laid down His life voluntarily,” John 10:18, then we should be moved to practice this most uncommon type of love. After all, Jesus did tell His disciples that they (and, by extension, we) are to love as He loved us, John 13:34.
For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
Romans 5:10
Without question, loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us definitely adds conviction and quite the challenge to the life of a believer. So, hot on the heels of Valentine’s Day, a day where love is professed and celebrated, it seems the right time to review not only these verses that teach a more complex and, most likely, uncelebrated love but to share this complete devotion from ourdailyverse.com – where we are encouraged to “embrace the call to love as Jesus loves us – unconditionally and generously,” with “a love that reaches out, even to those we find challenging, transforming our hearts and the world around us.”
https://www.ourdailyverse.com/p/verse-day-matthew-54344-3c22
Me From the Inside Out 