Digging Deeper – Who Should We Love?
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)
WHO SHOULD WE LOVE?
Commander Mitsuo Fuchida was a Japanese pilot during World War 2. He was a leader in the attack on Pearl Harbor that started the war and was active throughout. He devoted his life to the warrior culture that permeated the Japanese military. Revenge and honor were the two things that drove him. He survived the war with several near misses on his life.
After the war, many Japanese went on trial for war crimes because of the mistreatment of American POWs. Fuchida assumed that the U.S. had treated the Japanese POWs just as severely. When he spoke to a friend who had been a prisoner, his friend relayed a story of the kindness of an American woman, Peggy Covell, whose missionary parents were killed by Japanese soldiers. She showed compassion instead of taking revenge on these men who were her enemies.
Fuchida became interested in Christianity because of the actions of this one woman and eventually became a believer, preaching around the world and leading many to Christ.
Most of us are mindful of the passage above from Mark 12. After all, we hear it every Sunday, “Love God, love people, live sent.” But Jesus had a more difficult call than just loving our neighbor. The “love people” part of our challenge includes people who are actively opposed to us. God calls us to love our enemies because that is not the world’s culture. Loving our enemies stands out.
Take a moment to pray and ask God to show you who you need to love, not just your neighbor and those who are easy to love, but also the tough ones. Maybe it is someone you work with or perhaps someone from a different political party. Maybe it’s a family member who gossips behind your back or someone whose lifestyle differs from yours. It will be difficult, but it is not beyond what the Holy Spirit can do in your life, as Jesus says at the end of the passage in Matthew, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Pray that God will perfect your love.
Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.