Bible passage:
Loving your enemies - Matthew 5:43-48 “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 makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Knowing God will avenge the unrepentant unjust one at His time - Romans 12: 14, 17, 19-21 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Remembering that we were once enemies too - Romans 5: 8-10 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
There are different kinds of persecutions perpetuated. Persecutors may:
Violently break down churches, hurt or even kill pastors, missionaries, and new believers.
Mock Christianity, Jesus Christ, and Christians for their beliefs and practices.
Subtly show discrimination in job or career opportunities, deliberately delay documents and paper works pertaining to Christian organizations and events, and so on.
Emotionally abuse a family member or friend who may be a new believer, or an evangelical/ witnessing Christian against the wishes of the family.
When we think about the Biblical response to persecution - it is to forgive those who just hurt you, pray for their repentance so that God wouldn't punish them, and allow God to take vengeance (in His time) on those who do not repent. As I was thinking about these huge words, I was reminded of some personal anecdotes. Bear with me.
I remember as a child asking my mom, 'Mom, I will forgive this person who hurt me, but on judgment day, the person will be punished by God, right?". She replied, 'Then, Could God also forgive you now, and punish you on the judgment day?'. I went away silently. That day I understood a little better about forgiveness. Truly, when we forgive, we are saying, 'For the immense hurt that you caused me, I don't expect you to pay back in any form now or later, and I am willing to let it all go and not hold it against you'. The more the hurt, the more difficult it is to forgive. The more unjustified the hurt, it's even more difficult to forgive. When someone deliberately physically, emotionally, or sexually abuses a person, and even blasphemes against their God, it is difficult to forgive.
That takes us to anecdote two. Recently I was observing my sister's daughter and little son play. The small boy (at times) even knowingly breaks what his elder sister is carefully doing and she goes crying to her mother, asking her mother to take action. Yet, when the mother strongly reprimands her brother, and the little boy feels upset and stands before the mother, the girl's heart does compassionately try to protect the brother. It makes me wonder. If we get a vision of what it will be like for those who persecute us to feel the wrath of God, how would we react? Would we also like my niece, wish that they don't face the wrath? When the sinless Son of God cried out to His Father while His wrath was poured out on Him, what would mere mortals do, if they were to face God's wrath? When Saul persecuted Christians, Jesus took it as persecuting Him! How much wrath are these persecutors storing for themselves! Is it not better for them to repent?
We've all heard the stories of people who were persecuted by family members because they became Christians. How much more painful is that? It is a prolonged persecution of heart and mind, the pain of being hated, the blame that the believer is hurting those around, the burden that the new believer has for the salvation of family members, and the new lifestyle and Christians that they have to deal with. Will they not so much appreciate our prayers for them and their families?
Abel's blood cried out to the Lord, and Cain was punished. Jesus' blood cried out 'salvation', and we were redeemed. Let us raise our heart's cries for those who religiously persecute Christians.
Prayer points:
Pray that those who have hatred towards Christians and Christianity due to misinformation and prejudices will get to know the truth of Your word.
Pray that the evil plans for violence against Christians will be thwarted, that they get caught, and that it will be an opportunity for repentance.
Pray that those who mock Christianity will be ashamed of themselves when they see the response of love, and introspect on their need for a Savior.
Pray that those who put false allegations against Christians, and subtly discriminate against Christians because of their faith in you will see your majestic power deliver your people, and thus be drawn to You.
Pray that those who emotionally abuse a family member or friend for their faith would be convicted by Your Holy Spirit, even as Your presence fills that house and the darkness is cast away.
If you can, try memorizing Romans 5: 8-10.
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