GDLC Audio

Our first message in this series talked about loving hateful people...but what happens when that hate is directed towards you and your faith? What happens when you are persecuted for your faith? How do you handle that? How do you show love for someone who is not only your enemy, but also the enemy of God? You know the answer...and you know the answer because it’s Christ’s answer “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Hard? Really, really hard? Yes. But impossible? No. Christ loved His enemies and through Him we can have “Love for the Enemy” too.

Our first message in this series talked about loving hateful people...but what happens when that hate is directed towards you and your faith? What happens when you are persecuted for your faith? How do you handle that? How do you show love for someone who is not only your enemy, but also the enemy of God? You know the answer...and you know the answer because it’s Christ’s answer “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Hard? Really, really hard? Yes. But impossible? No. Christ loved His enemies and through Him we can have “Love for the Enemy” too.

This is a subject that many Christians struggle with. Many Christians believe that passivity is the only way that Christians can show the love of God. After all, just last week we explored the idea that showing Jesus’ love and mercy to someone is the best way to combat hate, so clearly if someone in our lives is doing something wrong then simply showing them an abundance of His love and mercy will fix the problem. And yes, that is true, but we are also called to bring discipline into the lives of those we love when they are in error. Is it hard? Does it feel “judgmental” at times? Will we be called out for doing so? Yes. But nonetheless, we are to remember that often, as Christians, “Love and Discipline” will in fact walk hand in hand!