THE NARROW PATH TO RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD - DAY 109

by Rev. Robert John Cericola, Carroll, OH - EUA  

Meditation 109

Love Your Enemies

Matthew 5:43-45 (NKJV)  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Have you ever been falsely accused or spitefully used or persecuted unnecessarily? How did you react? Did you love the person or persons; did you forgive them? It is easy to walk in love with your neighbor or your coworker or your spouse until they become your enemy.

We are living in the end of time and the love of many is growing cold. Compassion for the unborn has gone by the wayside and now our society is even discussing the possibility of killing the newborn child after birth. And this is just one example, of the moral decay that will destroy the love of many and make the command to “love your enemies” more difficult. However, Jesus knows exactly what we will face to obey the commandment to love and thus He is working to prepare His people for the coming challenges.

Loving your enemies can only be accomplished by the those that have been molded inwardly into the image of Christ and share His likeness. When the enemy comes in like a flood the standard that must be raised against him is love. Not our love, but the Love of God. As the world’s love grows dimmer and dimmer the love of God will grow brighter and brighter through those that have chosen to follow the Narrow Path to Relationship with God.

Ending Thoughts

The love of God was demonstrated through the compassion of Jesus Christ. He could see those that cursed and persecuted Him were bound by Satan and on their way to hell and responded with love and compassion. As love disappears from society we must be able to see through the eyes of Jesus and allow His compassionate love to flow through us. If you stay on the Narrow Path, by following the commandment to love, your self-life will disappear, and like the Apostle Paul you will be able to say, “it is no longer I that lives but Christ lives in me” and He will love your enemies through you.