“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” – Matthew

5:44

Throughout the Bible we see that we are designed to be people of love: Love one

another, our friends, our spouses, our children and love our neighbors. But Jesus takes

it a painful step further and tells us to love people who hurt us. It seems like it would

have been so much easier if he’d just left that part out. Some people are so difficult for

us to love. When we are hurt by others, we want to build up walls as an emotional

defense or protection. We may want them to be proven wrong or maybe we want to

shut off our feelings all together.

However, love teaches us that none of those responses are healthy and none of those

responses would allow us to be obedient to God’s commandment to love, to love as He

loved us and continues to love us. But can we love someone who hurt us?

Here is the crazy thing about love: love is not a feeling. Love is choice, followed by

action. Warn fuzzy feelings may or may not be involved.

Loving those who have hurt us may seem like an impossible task. For some, the hurt

and betrayal run so deep, the idea of loving that person again is worse than death.

When our hearts hurt, we are in danger of our focus drawing inward. The feelings of

loss, rejection, pain, sadness, and betrayal dominate. That isn’t love. The God of love

demands we change our perspective. God asks us to see them as He sees them.

He asks us to step out in obedience and pray for those who have hurt us. When you

obediently pray the joy of the Lord’s salvation over those who hurt you, and when you

say, “Lord, thank you for this person and thank you for what you are doing in them.”, you

may feel joy, love may rise in your heart or maybe you will feel the peace that passes

understanding.

So, why should you love when it hurts to love? Because God sent Jesus, at great

personal cost, to reconcile us to him. Reconciliation is not something God takes lightly,

and He calls us, his children, to be ministers of reconciliation. It is the primary purpose

of our lives. This is why loving our neighbor and our enemy are commandments. We

have the divine privilege of partnering with God to love those who have hurt us and to

pray for their reconciliation.

Who will you pray for this week?