Bless Your Enemies

BLESS YOUR ENEMIES

a prayer to open

Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

May your Kingdom come, may your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Are we sure Jesus didn’t mix up the words enemies and friends? To our friends—love, do good, bless, pray, offer our coats and shirts, give, and lend—of course! But to our enemies? To those who hurt, persecute, humiliate, slander, betray, and judge us or the people we love? Jesus is not calling us to something he was unwilling to do: “Since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God” (Romans 5:10-11). Jesus is calling us to love as he does.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself sitting in a favorite, familiar spot. Get comfortable there, listening for sounds, seeing what is around you. Then imagine Jesus next to you or across from you, looking into your eyes and then saying these words: “Bless, do good to, and love your enemies. Yes, that person, the one who just came to mind.”

• What would you do today if you allowed Jesus’ words to guide you? What would you stop doing today if you allowed his words to guide you?
• What doubts arise as you think about doing good to someone who has hurt you in some way? What fears or worries surface when you consider Jesus’ words applying to you?
• Who is an enemy you can barely tolerate, let alone imagine loving, blessing, or directing good toward? Take a few moments to ask God to show you how Jesus would love that person.

Father, Jesus’ words here seem impossible to obey. How can I do this? How can I want the best for someone who has hurt me or someone I love? Help me. Mold and shape my heart so I can do this. To start, I offer you this prayer for [insert the name of an enemy you have identified]: “May you bless [name], keep [name], and make your face to shine upon [name] on this day. Amen.”