At some point in your life, you are going to encounter people who are enemies. One will come onto the scene, and you are confronted with how to respond. It is never a good day when suddenly someone you have not noticed before or a new acquaintance is rude or even mean to you. Moments like these define the relationship from that point on. They can make your work environment tense, awkward, and even miserable. What do you do?

Jesus offers some countercultural advice. He wrote about enemies in several places in the New Testament. The Old Testament contains a few passages in Obadiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Leviticus, and other areas. For now, we will focus on a passage in Luke. 

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Luke 6:27-28 NIV

Jesus gives four actions of Christian behavior toward an enemy:

Love them.

Do good to them.

Bless them.

Pray for them.

Impossible to do without Christ. Someone not in Christ attempting to be a good person may say they can do these. They can’t. It will not last. Even for the one in Christ, it will be a challenge. Only in cooperation with Christ can these be accomplished.

So, who are enemies? The Bible says that people walk in darkness (Isaiah 9:2). Until you and I decided to follow Jesus, we walked in darkness. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (Colossians 1:21).

 The goal you and I should desire is for Acts 26:18 to happen in their lives: To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

What to do when faced with an enemy?

• Search for the scriptures about the topic of a Christian’s behavior toward enemies.

• Write down each scripture.

• Pray the scriptures.

When you pray God’s Word back to Him, you agree with God. And God, by His Spirit, will change your heart. You will see the enemy as God’s assignment for you instead of as someone to make your life miserable.

Until I understood the passages about enemies and saw God’s heart toward them, I never sought the Lord. I just ignored the person or felt tense when around them. The scripture gave me power. The enemy had no power to influence my inner thoughts or outward actions. I could stand(Ephesians 6).

Possibly, the point of an enemy is so your life can bear witness to Christ in you(Colossians 1:27). We don’t think like that because it means something is required of us. We must call on Christ’s divine nature to DO Luke 6:27-28! And unfortunately, we don’t want to do anything good for the enemy. But your thinking needs transformation to do God’s will (Romans 12:2).

As you read the scripture, your heart will change. Other things will happen, too. The enemy will not seem as intimidating. Likely, you will see breakthroughs with your enemy or get an idea of how to connect with your enemy. Maybe you will get an opportunity to have a gospel conversation.

Whatever happens, your heart will change, and you will experience relief. Whether anything transformative happens with your enemy, something transformative will happen in you. You will fail sometimes. The Lord will still be with you, and He will help you. Even through any failure, your enemy likely notices your effort, and God will be glorified. 

Loving your enemy is more about the process. You change to become more like Christ and your enemy sees something different about you. Hopefully through your example, your enemy will turn from darkness to light. Ultimately, that is what followers of Jesus should desire.

©Valerie Rumfelt

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