Jesus Christ said this:

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, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:44-45)

Jesus said this during the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5-7

It is not normal for people to love their enemies. Jesus not only taught us to do this, but gave us an example of how to do it. When the Roman soldiers nailed Him to the cross, He called out to God, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

How do you love your enemy? Read Romans 12:19-21. This passage lists three things you can do:

• Do not take revenge on your enemy for doing wrong to you
• If your enemy is hungry, give him food
• If your enemy is thirsty, give him something to drink.

The Bible calls this, “heap[ing] coals of fire on [your enemy’s] head.” What better way can there be to overcome evil than to overcome it by doing good?

An Illustration:

On a stormy winter day, a trucker was driving on a snowy, slippery highway. The road was dangerous and the snow was deep. A car came flying past him on the passing lane, its horn blowing. About a quarter mile up the road the car started to weave and went into a tailspin. It spun around several times, then dived trunk first into the ditch.

The trucker had two choices.

1. He could drive by, tooting his horn in derision. That is what they did to him. Let them stew. It might teach them a lesson.
2. He could stop and see if he could help them out. The Bible teaches us to “do good to them that despitefully use us.”

Guess what he did!

• Hint # 1: he was a professing Christian who went to church regularly.
• Hint # 2: he felt good about what he did.

Answer: he drove by, sounding his horn. Sadly, as many professing Christians, he didn’t put this teaching of Jesus to practice in his life. He lost a good opportunity to show God’s love to someone who didn’t deserve it.