I never really understood what Jesus meant when he said “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” I never thought I would have to face and real enemies or persecution. I don’t live in a impoverished nation. I don’t leave in hostility towards the gospel. But rather, I live in the Bible Belt of America, in a small rural town in southwest Missouri. So how could I really have any persecutors that I must love?
Let me explain…
Ministry is hard. No one said it was going to be easy, but I didn’t know exactly how hard it was going to be, and any time one deals with people he should expect it hard. People make things difficult, not intentionally, but make it hard. Everyone doesn’t agree with decisions that are made or the direction the church should go. Everyone has an opinion, including myself.
Last Sunday’s sermon was on forgiveness, and I felt God nudging me to forgive some individuals from the church where I work. I didn’t really want to, but knew that I needed to if I was going to grow in my faith and truly move forward in who God is molding me to be. I have forgiven before but there was something that happened this time. It was if I truly felt a burden lifted from my shoulders. I was finally set free from trying to convince them my opinion was the right one or that I had to live up to their expectations of me.
Don’t let me fool you though, it was a tough and humbling experience for me. I didn’t want to forgive them and I didn’t want to swallow my pride, and yet as I sat down at my desk and wrote out cards to each of them, I knew that I was doing exactly what God had called me to do. God needed me to learn this lesson of humility and leadership, but more importantly he needed me to be obedient to his calling and nudging in my life so that I could continue in my sanctification as a Christ follower.
My sense of gratitude for these individuals has greatly grown larger because I was forced to honestly evaluate their positions, their opinions and see that I am not always right. I learned how to love my enemies and how to pray for those who persecute me by obedience.
Will you join me? Will you too, learn to love those who hurt your feelings; those individuals that may make your life difficult? Will you learn to love others by being obedient?
