THE BLESSING: NOT IN THE KNOWING, BUT IN THE DOING (Part 2)

 

The Scripture

Matthew 5:43-45 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven..."

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The Idea: Jesus and His Disciples

When Jesus taught on the Mount, He gave instructions that shattered human logic. He spoke about turning the other cheek and carrying a Roman soldier’s gear a second mile. Under Roman law, a soldier could force a civilian to carry his heavy armor for one mile. It was a humiliating task, designed to remind the people of their subjection, carrying built-up resentment with every step.

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When Jesus said, "go with him two miles," He wasn't telling them to accept degradation. He was showing them how to reclaim their dignity and show a higher standard of love. Both the embarrassment and the resentment were within the person's control to yield to God.

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The Point: Jesus and you 

Choosing to love when you have been humiliated or mistreated is one of the hardest things a human can do. But let us be clear: loving your enemy does not mean accepting abuse.

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Consider the Civil Rights marchers with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. They faced brutal attacks, beatings, and hatred with radical, nonviolent love. They refused to retaliate with hatred, yet they actively stood against evil. When violence threatened their very survival, they navigated the battle with wisdom, knowing that God calls us to stand for truth, not to surrender our lives to reckless destruction.

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Friends, there are times when walking in love means stepping away from toxic or abusive places. We must let God's Spirit lead our steps and order our path. Loving our enemies may mean enduring temporary discomfort, embarrassment, or unfairness for the sake of the Gospel—but it never means allowing evil to destroy the temple of God within you.

Choose to love from a position of spiritual strength, guided by the Holy Spirit, knowing that true love always stands on the foundation of truth and wisdom.

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Quote:

"Throw us in jail, and we will still love you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children, and, as difficult as it is, we will still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communities after midnight hours, and drag us out onto some wayside road, and beat us and leave us half-dead, and we will still love you. But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer, and one day we will win our freedom."

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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