Scripture

Romans 12:14 NLT

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

Consider

Showing mercy to our enemies might be one of the most difficult commandments to embrace. In this era of escalating evil, it feels counterintuitive to seek God’s blessing for perpetrators intent on violence and destruction. Yet Paul tells the early Christian church exactly what Jesus told his disciples and what God still tells us today: Bless your enemies, pray for them, and do not curse them.

Blessing our enemies is a good idea because kindness and love can soften stubborn hearts and incline people away from evil. However, the primary motivation that Jesus gives in Luke 6:27-36 is not the welfare of our enemies but the securing of a deep and lasting relationship with God. Love your enemies, Jesus says, to please your Father in heaven and bring blessing into your life. Be merciful to prove that you are a true child of your Father, who shows mercy to everyone, no matter how evil and ungrateful they are. You must be compassionate, Jesus says, just as your Father is compassionate (verse 36).

To show mercy to an enemy, to desire goodness and peace for one who hurts and destroys through selfish intent, is exactly what God did through Jesus on the cross. It’s what God did for you and me when we were still God’s enemies and far from understanding the darkness of our hearts and our need for redemption. It’s the rule of God’s kingdom, which stands firmly opposed to the rule of sin and chaos in the world around us.

The power of mercy is one of the great heavenly mysteries that our world cannot comprehend. As his tormentors mocked and spat upon him, Jesus forgave his enemies by the divine power of a Spirit that could not be crushed and that the grave could not hold. Through this same divine Spirit acting in us, God will use the power of mercy to ultimately defeat the powers of evil and release the world from its chains of wickedness, death, and suffering once and for all.

Pray

FATHER, how it must grieve you to see your beloved creation spoiled by wanton acts of selfishness and destruction. Yet in your mercy you withhold judgment until the very last day, willing even those who are bent on evil to repent and return to you. Give me a heart of mercy like yours. Help me to love and forgive when I want to hate and condemn. Help me to remember your mercy to me and trust in your great plan of redemption.

Reflect

Romans 5:10-11; James 2:12-13

Ponder

How might my blessing an adversary strengthen my friendship with God?