Extending God’s Love
- Amy Brown
- Jul 12, 2024
- 2 min read
“When our heart is aligned with God’s heart, it is possible to love and pray for our enemies.”
“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.” Matthew 5:43-45 (ESV)
For my son’s 2nd birthday, we purchased a battery-operated ride-on truck as a gift. You know, the power wheels that your kids can cruise around in while looking cute? It was a two-seater, black Tundra, and I knew he’d love it.
A few days before my son’s birthday, my husband was putting the truck together. We noticed the wires needed to operate the truck were damaged. I called the company to explore options of a fix or refund. The customer representative I spoke with on the phone was not only unhelpful but blamed the damage on us.
As I was on the phone, I could feel my anger increasing and increasing. There were so many unkind words I wanted to say, but the call ended before the conversation escalated. In that moment, I viewed the person on the other end of the phone call my enemy. My natural bend was to speak unkind words to the customer representative.
Have you ever experienced a situation where you wanted to give someone a piece of your mind? Maybe you experienced a situation that led you to defensiveness, hurt, confusion, anger?
In these moments, we must remind ourselves of God’s love for us. Our loving Father in Heaven sent His only Son, Jesus, to take on our sins and die a gruesome death for you, me, and our enemies. None of us deserve Jesus, but God’s generous gift of grace covers those who accept Him with His love.
When we remember this truth, it’s a little easier for us to extend grace to our enemies. When our heart is aligned with God’s heart, it is possible to love and pray for our enemies.
Can you imagine a generation that prays and loves their enemy? It starts with us.
Action Steps:
Read this sentence and fill in the blank over and over. Remind yourself of God’s undeserving love for you. “God loves me so much that (fill in the blank)”. For example: God loves me so much that He pursues me every single day.
When you’re tempted to withhold love and prayer from an enemy, remind yourself of God’s love for that person.
Is there someone you need to start loving and praying for?
Written by Amy, mom of 2