Beyond Human

“Human love serves to love those dear to us, but to love one’s enemies, we need divine love.” (Leo Tolstoy)

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43 to 48)

How often have we been told that we should love our enemies? That seems to be one of the few portion of Scriptures spoken by the unregenerate as well as believers. We can hear it in the workplace, and we can hear it from the pulpit. There’s something about this, though, that we need to realize.

First: this is a commandment by Jesus.

And, second: it’s a commandment that very few have been able to keep.

Sadly, far too many Christians take offense with others when they should and could make allowance. The result is that they tend to make excuses as to why they don’t make the effort to forgive. With all that Jesus endured to give us all that He’s given us, as well as what we actually deserve, then ANY excuse we falsely call a reason is lame.

Jesus didn’t say, “Love your enemies, unless you feel like it, or unless they’ve done thus and such to you”. He didn’t leave us any wiggle room. Remember: to forgive our enemies is a commandment, not an option. Well, actually, it IS an option, if we’re willing to stand before Him and explain why we didn’t feel that we had to forgive this or that one, when we, who had once been HIS enemy, have been forgiven by Him.

Now, take a look at another portion of Scripture along a similar line.

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:” (Matthew 5:21 and 22)

Did you notice? Jesus said there may be times when we could be angry with a brother, and He understands that. But He warned us about being angry without a good reason. And He also said: “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” (Matthew 2:23 and 24). We also read what Paul had written: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” (Ephesians 4:26).

So, will there be times when we’ll be angry? Possibly, but not necessarily. Will there be times when we’ll be justified in being angry? Possibly as well, but, more often than not, no. Yet where does the Lord place the responsibility for reconciliation? Squarely on our shoulders. He doesn’t care if we think it’s not our fault. He requires us to be the reconciler.

Beside that, He also requires us to be the one who loves, the one who blesses, the one who does good, and the one who prays, despite receiving cursing, hatred and persecution. After all, we live in the enemy’s territory. Consequently, if we claim that we want to be like Jesus, what else can we expect? If we don’t want the cursing, the hatred, and the persecution, then we really can’t expect to be like Jesus.

There’s one more point I want to make here, and it’s just as important as everything I’ve said; if not more. It sounds like the Lord expects us to just forgive automatically, as if we have it within ourselves to do that.

Forget it.

None of us has the ability to just forgive our enemies, nor to be a reconciler.

That takes two things. First and foremost, we have to have a WILLING DESIRE to submit ourselves to the Spirit of God. Then, and only then, will He give us what we need to be able to do what He’s commanded us to do.

Guess what, though?

This isn’t going to alleviate our situation. As a matter of fact, you may not want to hear it, but it’s actually going to increase.

Why?

Well, what does the Scripture say?

“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;” (Hebrews 5:8)

Did Jesus ever NOT experience opposition and persecution?

No.

Yet He forgave. He REALLY forgave. He never muttered that He forgave under His breath.

He REALLY forgave.

In EVERY situation.

And He didn’t do it automatically.

He learned how to walk as the son of God by everything that He endured.

All the persecution, all the opposition, all the hatred, all the cursing, all the lies, all the scourging, as well as the three nails and a cross.

Do you know how He was able to do it?

It wasn’t through His divinity.

He did it in full dependence upon the Holy Spirit. You see, if He hadn’t received the anointing of the Holy Spirit at the Jordan River, He could never have withstood what He went through.

Likewise, there’s no way that we can go through the things that the Lord allows without the divine strength of His Holy Spirit.

As I said, the more we learn to really do what He’s told us to do (because depending upon the Holy Spirit is a way of life that takes practice), the more the enemy will try whatever he can to bring us down. Thus, we can count on a steady increase of cursing and hatred and persecution.

But, the more we depend upon Him, the more we’ll not have anger toward our brethren, as well as the more we’ll receive what we need to be able to love and bless and do good and pray for those who curse us and hate us and persecute us.

If our desire is to be like Jesus, then don’t expect anything less than what He endured.

But remember: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)