THINK TOGETHER.
Is there a sports team that you cheer against? Which one?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 24:17. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
Solomon is saying something pretty radical here. In ancient days, no one would ever do anything nice for their enemy. So if your enemy falls, then you definitely need to be glad and even rejoice. There’s even some prayers in the Bible asking God to make the enemies of Israel fall or be defeated. But that’s up to God not us.
Jesus took it one step further. He told us to love our enemies. Proverbs simply tells us to not be happy if our enemy fails or gets in trouble. But Jesus tells us to actively be kind and generous to our enemies. He tells us to not pray against them, but to pray for them.
Matthew 5:44. I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
None of this is very easy. In fact, loving our enemies might be the hardest thing Jesus asks us to do. I know I can barely do what Proverbs says and keep from being glad when my enemies fall. The only way we can ever hope to be sad when our enemies are sad, help our enemies, love our enemies, and even pray for our enemies is if we are remembering that Jesus loved us when we were still his enemy.
When you have all the love you need from Jesus you no longer have to hate anyone. Instead you can want what’s best for everyone, you can love everyone, even those who are hard to love.
Because of Jesus we have all the love we need.
With Jesus we can love everyone, even our enemies.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
When you pray together, pray for someone that you might have a hard time liking. Don’t wait until you feel good about them to pray for them, pray when you still feel bad about them and see if praying helps you feel better.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, sometimes I cheer against people I don’t like. Help me to want what is best for everyone, even those it is hard to like. Amen.
TLICfamily 