Be Aggressive Toward Enemies

• Matthew 5:44 (NIV)
• Matthew 5:45 (NIV)
• Luke 6:27 (NIV)
• Luke 6:28 (NIV)
• Romans 12:14 (NIV)

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"But I say to you who hear, 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

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Romans 12:14
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"No, no, no! I don't want to bless them. Can't we just leave it at 'don't get revenge.'"

Notice the aggressive posture we are to have toward those who hate or mistreat us. We are not just to look away, ignore them, hope they disappear in a poof of smoke. We are commanded to take action - bless them, pray for them, love them (and love is an action, not a feeling). While meditating on this I realized some reasons the Lord would ask this of us.

- When we bless we put ourselves on the cross.
- We crucify our desire for vindication, revenge
- We crucify our desire for "justice".

- When we bless we override our feelings and put our spirit on the throne.

- When we bless we step down off the seat of judgment and leave the "verdict", the outcome, to God.

- When we bless we obey a command of the Lord that is totally counterintuitive (makes no sense to the carnal mind).

- When we bless we sow seeds of love, harmony, kindness and mercy that will produce a harvest in our own lives and family.

- When we bless the undeserving, unkind, unjust, deserving of punishment, we demonstrate on earth our Heavenly Father's attitude toward us and all mankind.

- When we bless we bring a smile to God's face because we are behaving just like our "daddy".

God is more concerned about conforming us to His image than He is with making sure everything in life is fair and just - because it isn't. There will come a time when the "righteous judge of all the earth" will square all accounts. But for now, His primary concern is creating a kingdom of Kings and Priests that will represent Him - the One who has been mistreated, unjustly despised, rejected by His own creation, yet He continues to lavishly pour out His kindness and mercy in exchange for their hatred.

My prayer: "OK, Lord, I still can't say I am thrilled with this "bless 'em' bless ' em" theology but I will give it a go because you say so. Now help me to mean it when I say it."
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Matthew 5:44, 45
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 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.

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