For a while, I have been perplexed by Jesus' command in the Sermon on the Mount that we love our enemies. Before digging into it, I tended to view this kind of love as simply not hating our enemies in more a passive sense. However, after reading through Dietrich Bonhoeffer's exegesis of Jesus' longest sermon in his book The Cost of Discipleship, I believe I have a more complete view on the Sermon as a whole. Bonhoeffer starts the chapter on enemies with a slightly shocking statement:
The love required of us for our enemy is, again, beyond what a finite mind can grasp. Bonhoeffer goes so far as to say that "no sacrifice which a lover would make for his beloved is too great for us to make for our enemy." Wow! That's pretty crazy, but check this out. Bonhoeffer says that, by praying for our enemies, "we are taking their distress and poverty, their guilt and perdition upon ourselves, and pleading to God for them." Again, the whole point of loving our enemies is "to bring them nearer to reconciliation with God."
This all probably seems absolutely insane. Why should you be so actively concerned about the spiritual well-being of those people who hate you, who deride you, who curse you because they disagree with what you believe? You may be thinking that Jesus is asking the impossible of us, and I would say to you emphatically that, Yes, He is.
But, back up a little bit, did any of those demands sound familiar? They should because they are exactly what Jesus lived out on the Cross! Let us not forget Titus 3, where Paul reminds us that we were all once enemies of God. It may be a good exercise to remind yourself from where Jesus brought you and remember that you owe your "very life to the One, who though [you were] His enemy, treated [you] as a brother and accepted [you], who made [you] His neighbour, and drew [you] into fellowship with Himself."
This still does not seem to address how we love our enemies. But, as with pretty much everything in the life of the saint, it requires the Holy Spirit applying the love of Jesus through us. Bonhoeffer sums it up like this:
This post categorized under Personal Thoughts, Book Commentary, and Culture.
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Wednesday, August 23, 2006 at 8:56 AM. Love is defined in uncompromising terms as the love of our enemies. Had Jesus only told us to love our brethren, we might have misunderstood what he meant by love, but now he leaves us in no doubt whatever as to his meaning.Bonhoeffer continues expounding on the impossibilities of loving our enemies by explaining the motivation of this love. He questions, "Who needs our love more than those who are consumed with hatred and are utterly devoid of love?" We have often heard it said that "the only way to overcome our enemy is by loving him," but how does that transcend the theoretical into practical application. Bonhoeffer claims that our enemy's "persecution of us only serves to bring them nearer to reconciliation with God and to further the triumphs of love," but this just doesn't seem to play out in 'real life.' Jesus says that is not ours to determine.
The love required of us for our enemy is, again, beyond what a finite mind can grasp. Bonhoeffer goes so far as to say that "no sacrifice which a lover would make for his beloved is too great for us to make for our enemy." Wow! That's pretty crazy, but check this out. Bonhoeffer says that, by praying for our enemies, "we are taking their distress and poverty, their guilt and perdition upon ourselves, and pleading to God for them." Again, the whole point of loving our enemies is "to bring them nearer to reconciliation with God."
This all probably seems absolutely insane. Why should you be so actively concerned about the spiritual well-being of those people who hate you, who deride you, who curse you because they disagree with what you believe? You may be thinking that Jesus is asking the impossible of us, and I would say to you emphatically that, Yes, He is.
But, back up a little bit, did any of those demands sound familiar? They should because they are exactly what Jesus lived out on the Cross! Let us not forget Titus 3, where Paul reminds us that we were all once enemies of God. It may be a good exercise to remind yourself from where Jesus brought you and remember that you owe your "very life to the One, who though [you were] His enemy, treated [you] as a brother and accepted [you], who made [you] His neighbour, and drew [you] into fellowship with Himself."
This still does not seem to address how we love our enemies. But, as with pretty much everything in the life of the saint, it requires the Holy Spirit applying the love of Jesus through us. Bonhoeffer sums it up like this:
... it is not the disciple's own love, but the love of Jesus Christ alone, who for the sake of His enemies went to the Cross and prayed for them as He hung there. [...] Perfect, all-inclusive love is the act of the Father, it is also the act of the sons of God as it was the act of the only-begotten Son. (emphasis mine)The chorus of an old-school Newsboys song entitled Breathe captures it well:
Breathe on meLet us long for the Spirit to fill us with His power to love like He does!
Breathe oh Breath of God
Breathe on me
`til my heart is new
Breathe on me
Breathe oh Breath of Life
Breathe on me
`til I love like You do
This post categorized under Personal Thoughts, Book Commentary, and Culture.
