Once he has done that this becomes a little easier. The second major principle can only happen after God has changed your heart. The good news is, if Stephen could do it, so can you. If there ever was a real-world way to love your enemies on display, this was it. His life had been transformed on the inside. Why was Stephen able to do this? Because he was a man full of the Holy Spirit. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. I need to focus your attention on the end of the story (sorry for the spoiler alert if you never read it): If you are familiar with his story, eventually he was stoned to death for preaching the truth to the Sanhedrin. Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Just so you know, it’s not just something that Jesus did-you can do it, too. This can only flow from a heart that has been transformed by the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. “ Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” – Luke 23:34 Remember when he was on the cross, he said: When you reflect on Jesus’ life and character, he demonstrated how much he loved those who were against him. Photo Credit: ©BethanyPyle Two Major Principles of How to Love Your Enemiesīefore we look at the real-world ways to love your enemies, I want to share two major points first because without these it will never happen I’m going to share with you three real-world ways to love your enemies. If it’s truly your desire to be like Jesus, this is what it will take. Has there ever been a time in our society where we needed to put this into practice more than we need to now? And those words are just as true today as they have ever been. I can assure you this is what Jesus really meant. ( Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Bible) We must have a compassion for them, and a good will toward them. Usually, the former denotes "complacency in the character" of the person loved but "love your enemies" here it denotes the benignant, compassionate outgoings of desire for another's good. The word here used denotes moral love, as distinguished from the other word, which expresses personal affection. Love your enemies? We might be thinking.maybe we need to check the original Greek to make sure this is what Jesus really meant. Love the people who treat you nicely and respectfully, yes. After all, who really wants to do this, anyway? Love your friends, yes. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone quote this one as their favorite. Many people have their favorite verses in scripture. You have heard that it was said, ‘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
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