Do you know anyone who maintains an enemies list? Perhaps it’s not a formal written list, but nonetheless it’s a list of those folks who are deemed to be avoided at all costs. Included might be political enemies, those with differing viewpoints on religion, ethnicity, financial standing, or someone who has harmed us, (or others), or someone with whom we’ve had a disagreement.
If we were to be honest we all have an enemies list of some sort or another. Think about those folks whom you know that you dislike and wouldn’t lift a finger to help under any circumstance; in fact just the opposite, you’d take great delight and satisfaction upon hearing of their misfortune, (or maybe even causing it). In fact if someone on your enemies list moved next door to you, a for sale sign would go up in your front yard the next day.
Some in our society take their enemies list to extremes. Consider radical Islam, the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, the Black Panthers and Aryan Brotherhood, the Crips and the Bloods, Mongols and Mexican Mafia and other violent gangs that will literally kill someone just for walking through their neighborhood that is not on their “team”. Consider the gridlock in Washington D.C. where politicians on opposite sides of the aisle would rather destroy our country than sit down and work together in a reasonable manner.
Do you suppose Jesus Christ has an enemies list? Most of us would quickly reply, “No way!”
In fact some might quote Matthew 5:44: “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous . . .
Hmmm . . . That’s a very nice verse, but it does not mean that God does not have enemies. The Bible states that God indeed has enemies, in fact in Zechariah it indicates that His enemies “loathe Him and He loathes them”.
Yes God has His enemies, but God treats them altogether different than the world treats theirs. He still loves them.
Romans 5:10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his ENEMIES, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. (Emphasis mine)
It’s an oxymoron; He sent His Son to die for us while we were still His enemies immersed in sin.
Huh?
Grace has always been a mystery to me and remains so to this day. I envision Him bloody and beaten beyond recognition, nailed to a cross struggling to breathe as the weight of His body separates his bones, with a jeering crowd mocking, cursing and spitting upon Him and gambling for His clothes. Suddenly He looks down upon the Godless throng of jeering sinners and lovingly asks God to forgive them.
Had that been me, the indescribable horror that I would have rained down upon them could not be put in print. But not so with God, He literally gave His life to save His enemies . . . He didn’t say, “Death to my enemies; He said, “Death FOR my enemies” . . .
What are you going to do with your enemies list today?
2 Cor. 5:18
All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation . . .
October 21, 2013 – Click here to listen