Loving Our Enemies

 “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives?””

‭‭Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We know that, according to Jesus, we’re to love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Yet this is something we struggle to do. It’s not even something to which we give much thought.

Although we say that we love our enemies, we feel no compassion for them. Although we say that we desire their blessing, we are unwilling to provide for them. And although we say that we want them to share in the mercy of Christ, we will not go out of our way to minister to them.

Even if we aren’t actively hating them, we’re not actively loving them. Even if we’re not actively seeking their harm, we aren’t actively seeking their good. And even if we aren’t actively pursuing their judgment, we’re not actively pursuing their blessing.

As we look at Judges 21, we see the example of the people of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin had been in the wrong. They had made their brothers, of the remaining tribes of Israel, their enemies. And they had been on the receiving end of a great wrath.

Their tribe had been utterly decimated in battle. All that remained of Benjamin was six hundred men. And the rest of Israel had vowed that none of them would give their daughters in marriage to them.

In essence, the tribe of Benjamin would soon be no more. And the remaining tribes of Israel could have simply accepted that. They could have, in fact rejoiced in that.

Yet, despite the wrong committed by Benjamin, the rest of Israel felt compassion for them. And, despite their vow, they sought a way to provide for their need. They sought to love their enemies rather than hate them. And they sought to bless their enemy rather than harm them.

The way they did so may seem strange to us. It may sound questionable. It may even seem downright wrong. But the point remains.

They went out of their way to provide wives for the remaining men of Benjamin. They sought to do so in a way which would not mean violating the vow they'd taken. But they did all they could to ensure this tribe would not go the way of extinction.

The tribes of Israel felt compassion for their enemies. They loved their enemies. And they desired that their enemies would share in God's blessing.

This points us to Christ, who loved his enemies. It points us to Christ, who desired God’s blessing for those who hated him. And it points us to Christ, who sacrificed his life that those who caused his suffering might be saved.

We, you see, were his enemies. We are those who hated him. And we are those who caused his suffering.

As his people, then, we’re to share his heart. As his children, we’re to reflect his nature. And as recipients of his compassion, we’re to show it to others.

Pressing On

 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it...”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The world in which we live is antagonistic toward the Christian faith. It’s hostile to the Christian faith. And this is more true now than it's ever been. 

Persecution directed against believers in Jesus is worse than it’s ever been in the course of human history. We see it in atheistic regimes, as well as in Muslim nations. But we see it even in nations that have been historically Christian, including here in the United States.

In addition, those among whom we live seem enamored by evil. They are determined to satisfy their every passion. And they’ll do so no matter who they hurt in the process.

In the face of this, it can be hard to remain faithful. Our sense of self-preservation pulls us to turn away from the faith. And our natural desire to be liked and accepted leads us to surrender to the culture in which we live.

 But in the face of an ever hostile world, we are called to do just that. We're called to remain faithful. In the face of a world pursuing evil, we are called to continue on. 

We’re to continue on in the faith we have firmly believed. We’re to continue in the faith which was taught to us. And we’re to do so knowing from whom we learned it.

In the case of Timothy, he’d learned the faith from his mother and grandmother. The same is true of many of us. It’s our family who introduced us to the faith. And we know that they are trustworthy.

Timothy had also been discipled by the apostle Paul. And it was not merely a relationship between student and teacher. It’s clear that a closeness developed between them. In the same way, we tend to become very close to those who’ve taught us the faith. They are not merely teachers. They are our spiritual fathers and mothers. And, like our natural parents, we know that they love us and have our best interests at heart.

This, of course, is not true of those seeking to lead us astray. They are not trustworthy. They seek not our best interest. And they do not truly love us. There are other motives at work.

Realizing this, in spite of the world around us, we hold firmly to our faith. We continue in what we’ve learned. And we continue in what we’ve firmly believed.