How many times have I heard and read to pray for those who persecute you and bless those who mistreat you? But I've never understood the power that lies in doing just that. Not to pray for their demise or for them to be changed for your benefit, but to pray blessings over them. When you deny your human nature through the power of the Holy Spirit and obey what God has commanded, He blesses you.
You look at those people through His eyes and something shifts in your heart. God's peace floods in and love begins to grow. They are no longer my enemy, but they are a fellow human being who is hurting and in need of the love of Chris,t just like me. They are made in the image of God and precious to Him, just as I am.
With that paradigm shift, how can I be angry with them? How can I feel anything but compassion for them? Maybe they have never felt the touch of God before. Maybe they are still stumbling around in a dark world without the light of the hope of Christ. My hating them or being bitter and angry isn't going to point them to Christ. But if I choose to love them and be an extension of Christ's grace, maybe they will see a reflection of Him in me. And when I allow God to change my heart for them, I get the immense honor of interceding for another person before the throne of God.
Suddenly, it has changed from a command I must obey to a privilege.
"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." Matthew 5:44
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
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