It never fails, the people that we thought really loved us, hurt us the most deeply. Though the wound may appear healed, it still hurts when agitated. How do we, as the Bible has indicated, love those who have hurt us?

We are continuing our examination of the Life of Christ and others from the perspective of Living in a Crucible.

Symbolically, a crucible is the fiery trials we experience as we grow and develop.
Crucibles are painful, they are uncomfortable, and they hurt, but they are beneficial in developing our character.

Inviting the Holy Spirit’s Presence
Holy Father, You love the just and the unjust. As humans, this we find difficult to do. Helps us better understand what you mean when you say, we should love our enemies. In Jesus Name Amen.

How do we love our enemies? One person indicates we should try to see it this way. Think of all the things that your enemies have done as dirt. And think of your enemies as pearls in dirt. Now the big question. Does loving our enemies (‘the pearls’) mean we must love the “dirt”? No! We hate the dirt in which our enemies are covered.

But, Just like God loves you, we loves your enemies. Loving our enemies does not mean we are to love the dirt in which the “pearl” is buried. Rather loving your enemies, mean that we love the pearl which lies in the dirt. God does not love us because we are loveable. Instead, we become loveable because He loves us.

So, when we look at those who have hurt us, we see them in a different light. We see them as “pearls” in the dirt.
It is true it is difficult to see our enemies as pearls. Because instead of seeing the pearls our focus is on the dirt, the hurt that surrounds the pearls.

Yet, Jesus asks us to love our enemies and pray for them. In Matthew 5:43–48 Jesus, gives us some examples to help us understand this concept of loving our enemies.
Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 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,
45 that you may be sons of your Father 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.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

In Matthew 5:45, Jesus uses the example of His Father in heaven to show us how we should love the ones who hurt us. Although they may have hurt us and caused a lot of pain, using his Father as an example, Jesus says that His Father sends the blessing of rain to both the good and the bad, the just and the unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous. Then he points out that: if God, who create us all, gives rain to the just and the unjust, how should we treat those who hurt us?

Is Jesus saying we should always have warm and cheerful feeling in our hearts for everyone who causes us pain. Of course not! This may be possible for some, but the answer is No. Love for our enemies is not a feeling. Love for our enemies is a behavior. It is an action.
We show our enemies love when we care and respond to them and their needs.

Then, Jesus ends His talk on loving those who hurt us with these words: “ ‘Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect’ ” Matt. 5:48, NIV. Now how is that possible. What did Jesus mean by this statement? Though some may debate it, when looking at it within its context, it clearly means we behave the same way that God behaves. WOW!

In other words, just like God pours his blessings on the just and the unjust, we are to show love to our enemies, those who hurt us. When we do this, then in the eyes of God, we are “perfect”.

The problem is, loving our enemy is not possible when our hearts are full of pride and selfish ambition. We can only love our enemies if we have a humble heart. A humble heart is a heart empty of all pride. A humble person is patient. A humble person does not hurt the ones who hurt him or her. They do not do evil for evil.

When someone hurts you, the spiritual counsel is:
“Do not allow bitter thoughts to continue to fill your mind. . . ., when possible, go to your brother or sister and in humility and sincerity talk with them about the matter. . .

All heaven is interested in the conversation between the one who has been injured and the one who caused the injury. . . .

The oil of love removes the soreness caused by the wrong. The Spirit of God binds heart to heart, and there is music in heaven over the union brought about. . . .

. . . It is not earthly rank, nor birth, nor nationality, nor religious privilege, which proves that we are members of the family of God; it is love, a love that embraces all humanity. Even sinners whose hearts are not utterly closed to God’s Spirit will respond to kindness. . . . [It] is only the Spirit of God that returns love for hatred.

To be kind to the unthankful and to the evil, to do good hoping for nothing again, is the insignia of the royalty of heaven, the sure token by which the children of the Most High reveal their citizenship in the heavenly estate. —Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, pp. 529, 530 (Adapted)
Do you desire a humble heart? Then what changes must you make? Make a list of these changes. Then ask God to help you change so that you can love your “enemies.”

If you think loving your enemies is hard. Then how do you hold your peace in the middle of unfair and painful treatment?

From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 3: Sabbath.School
See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School