Forgive THAT enemy??!!

Luke 6:27 [NIV] “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”

Of all the hallmarks of Christianity, loving our enemies might be one of the most unique…and taxing of Jesus’ expansion of the requirements for being an obedient child of God. However, I think most, if not all of us “seasoned” Christians could manage that from afar. But that I mean that it seems to me that it is a whole lot easier to forgive an enemy that you don’t have to deal with – speak to, be around – after the forgiving is done.

But how would it feel to have your enemy repent and start attending church with you? Worse, what if he was ordained and now had the authority to preach Christian love to you? That’s exactly what happened to the early New Testament church.

1 John 3:2 [NKJV] Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

In the book of Acts, we read about the martyr, Stephen, who forgave those we were stoning him, just before he died. That is an amazing testimony of forgiveness and love.

Acts 7:57-60 [NIV] 57 this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him (Stephen) 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 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.

Let me emphasize this point: those stoning Stephen laid their garments at the feet of Saul, who then continued on his rampage against Christians. And then we read in Acts 9 that Saul repented. This persecutor of the sheep was about to ask to be accepted into the fold. How would you fare if God sent you as the first emissary to welcome Saul into the ecclesia?  

Acts 9:11-14 [NIV] The Lord told him (that is Ananias), “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

God sent Ananias to Saul to be the first person to treat Saul as a brother and welcome him into the family of God. Ananias, understandably, felt the need to remind the Lord of just who this Saul was and what he was doing for a living. But then Ananias went and did as God commanded.

Acts 9:26 [NIV] 26 When he (Ananias) came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. Don’t judge our Christian brothers and sisters from this era too harshly, Saul had given them plenty of good reasons to be wary. And it isn’t like there had be decades since Saul, now Paul, had been involved in persecution. He was on his way to do more damage when the Lord stopped Paul in his tracks.

Paul needed a gutsy intercessor. Someone whose love could overcome not only his own fear and doubt, but also that of the church. Enter Barnabas.

Acts 9:27-30 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

With the intervention of one bold man, Barnabas, the church did accept the new Paul as a true preacher of the Gospel. But you have to know that for a long time, wherever he went, Paul was rubbing elbows with and preaching to the acquaintances, and even friends or family of many whom he had persecuted.

He had been the enemy of these people. Now, he spoke to them from the scriptures with authority. Even those who had suffered at his hand, or who had a family member who did, had to forgive Paul and, not just do good to him, but treat him as a brother in Christ, AND accept instruction on how to be a better follower of Christ from this man who might have persecuted their own friends and family! I cannot imagine that was easy.

But before we say this seems like a bit much, we should consider the ultimate example of and loving your enemy, doing good to them and accepting them as brothers or sisters in the family of God. That example is, of course, Jesus, our Messiah. Not only did He die for you and me, He died by our own hands (through the Roman soldiers working on our behalf), because every sin I ever committed and every sin you ever committed required this death – caused it. Therefore, when He forgave those doing the work of crucifixion at the time of His death, He was forgiving us too.

Let’s keep in mind that He died for us long before we were born, let alone repented of our sins. So, we do not have the right to expect repentance or changed behavior before we forgive others. That was not Jesus’ example.

Of course, there are circumstances in this life where it would still be best not to be around that person who placed themselves as your enemy, even after they have repented, but that doesn’t negate what has to be in our hearts for that person.

Even if you and I never face this type of thing – never have to accept, respect, welcome into congregation someone who has sought to kill us in this life – we know that if God’s will is done (His will that all none perish and all come to repentance – 2 Peter 3:9), in the Kingdom we will serve with someone who had done us some harm.

So, who is the worst person you can imagine having to forgive and WELCOME into the family of God? Joseph Stalin? Adolph Hitler or Heinrich Himmler? Pol Pot? The priests who preyed on innocent young boys and remain unpunished? Those who flew into the twin towers on 9/11? A family member who molested you? A mate who cheated?

Perhaps it will not be so much of a struggle for us when we been welcomed into the Kingdom. Why do I think that? Because of what is says in 1 Johne 3:2.

1 John 3:2 [NKJV] Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

We shall be like Him. Jesus died for me long before I repented and began the struggle to act more like Him. He advocates for me every day, even though I caused His death – even though today’s sins still require His blood. The Father forgives me today and accepts me back into His presence. He considers me family, for all my faults and repeated sins. And we will be like Him when we become spirit beings.

So, for now, we have to practice loving our enemies. We must be like Barnabas, welcoming them into our congregations and we must practice the love of God toward them, even if the hurt is very recent – as the early New Testament church had to do with Paul. As Jesus and the Father do with us.

I pray to have more of His forgiving and welcoming heart toward all repentant sinners. I hope you will pray that too.

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me right now in the chat room or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org.