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1 and 2 Peter, Part 21 (Supplement)

NOTE: The last essay dealt with love, which Peter put at the top of his list of ideal Christian characteristics. Because I feel this subject is much too important to be quickly passed over, I have gone back in my files and picked up an essay on love from the lessons given in the Concerns of Jesus series. Those of you who were in the class, or on the mailing list, while we were doing this study, will have this in your files. However, the subject is important enough to bear repeating, and will also be an apt addition for those who were not in the group at that time.

Love Your Enemies

The trouble men have, with this heaven-sent directive, is a failure to realize that love can have many meanings, and many degrees. Loving one's children, loving one's work, and loving a piece of apple pie, are related only by the word "love". Beyond that, there is no relationship between the three emotions. Just so, the feeling I have for my family is not related to the feeling toward an enemy, even if they are both described with the same word, "love". The love I have for my family comes unbidden into my heart. The love I have for my enemy is a matter of willing myself to feel benevolent toward him and, no matter what he does, wish him no harm. It does not excuse his misbehavior, but it regrets it. I do not hate him for what he does to me. I feel sorry about it, for him.

Even in the case of the Father: the love He had for His only begotten Son, with whom He shared a oneness, and identity, was different from the love He had for the world, which had rejected Him, and espoused another. As Jesus stood on the mount, and looked out over Jerusalem, he said, "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have gathered thee under my wings, as a hen gathereth her chickens, but you would not." He loved them, not because they appealed to Him, or were beautiful people, but because they were His Father's created beings, and, as a parent loves the most recalcitrant child...rebellious and totally obnoxious...so God wanted all His created children to share heaven with Him. 

However, this love of which we speak, does not cause God to overlook the evil in the hearts of men, nor to excuse their wickedness. The history of His dealing with rebellious and sinful people shows that He will not tolerate those who have joined Satan's army, and who are a threat to goodness and righteousness. "Make no mistake. God is not mocked. What a man sows, that he will reap." 

It is a pious mistake to say, "If we would just love, we could solve all the world's problems." Evil cannot be loved. It must be confronted. If a bitter man is coming down the street shooting everything that moves, only a fool would run out and say, "I love you". Evil people, and evil actions cannot be either excused or tolerated.

In Romans 12, Paul says, "Avenge not yourselves, but give place unto wrath, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay', saith the Lord." Self-centeredness is the ultimate sin of mankind. It started with Satan, was transferred to man in the Garden, and has been the evil, driving force behind all the ills of mankind ever since. Loving your enemy is simply removing your own self-interest from the scene, and making the best interests of another of God's creatures your priority. It is a process of not seeking your own satisfaction, even when it means giving in to one who is an enemy. It does not mean loving an enemy more than a friend, or sacrificing good people in order to serve one who misbehaves. A cardinal rule of life should be, "Never reward misbehavior." God does not, nor does He expect it of us.

Loving your enemy then, simply means being conscious that he is also a child of God, and in love for the King, we strive to help him achieve what he was created to be, and, in the process, please the Father. If, in order to achieve this, we must sacrifice some of our own rights, we must be willing so to do. However, that sacrifice is never required when its result is to reward the evil doer.

So, when Jesus said, "Love your enemies", He was not telling us to feel warm toward the misbehaving ones. He was concerned that we not be discriminators, and only care about the people we like. In sending rain on the just and the unjust, God is not blessing the misbehavior of the unjust. He is being perfectly fair with all men, but this does not imply blessings to, or approval of, evil men. 

Loving your enemy does not mean you have to like him, much less approve of him, or his behavior. This love has more to do with who you are than what he is. In spite of all that His enemies did to Him, Jesus remained the same loving Lord. He expects us, who follow Him, to remain loving and caring and kind, regardless of the actions of others. 

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