The smile on your face is like a spotlight of conviction. The person wonders why you are not retaliating or snubbing them. It baffling to the person who is unable to understand what is up. It's hard to hate someone who is busy loving you and doing good for you. Lincoln smiled and said, "Isn't that what I do when I make them my friends?" President, you really have to destroy your enemies." Mr. One day one of his advisors came to him and said, "Mr. President Lincoln was great at forming alliances between people of different opinions, bringing together people who disagreed with him on his personal staff. Jesus announced a revolutionary way to deal with enemies: return kindness for injury, love, for hate, courtesy for dishonor. In verse 44 Jesus gives specific instructions to not only love my enemies, but to pray for them. This is convicting to me because I know there are many times in which I do not think enough to realize and give credit to God for all the things He gives and does for me, making me one of those ungrateful. God is kind to those who are ungrateful and evil. We should give without any expectation to receive anything in return. Luke 34,35 points out that there is no benefit to lending to those who you know you will get the money back. Mark 12:32, "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." Jesus points out how He is different in that He loves all, even His enemies, treating them the same, giving them all the sunrise and the rain. Jesus points out that even the tax collectors and gentiles love those who love them. Our neighbor is any person we come into contact with wherever we go. The intent of this law is to love everyone in that our neighbor could be our friend or foe. Of course it is easy to love those who love me. (Leviticus 19:18, "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.") Unfortunately, people read between the left-out lines to quandary how then to treat the enemy. Jesus references scripture to love thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus (on the Sermon of the Mount) continues his theme of teaching us to see the intent of the commandments. Matthew 5:43-48 Luke 6:31-36 LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
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