Love Your Enemies - Even If You Don't Like Them

Today, is Sunday School, we talked about the commandment to "Love Your Enemies," and I thought about how it's possible to love someone without necessarily liking them. Essentially, it's possible to have Christlike love for someone, to care about their welfare and want what's best for them, to appreciate and respect their inherent humanity, without necessarily wanting to spend time with them. There are many people we disagree with, and even oppose, but that doesn't mean we have to hate them. We can love people the same way Jesus loved the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the moneylenders in the temple. He cared about them, and He wanted what was best for them, but He also wanted them to stop what they were doing, and in some cases, He was even willing to use force to stop them. He spoke honestly about them, even though the truth was unflattering. Yet, no matter how much they fought against each other, and no matter what they did to provoke Him, He never stopped loving them, and He died for their sins along with everyone else's. He wanted everyone to enjoy salvation, and that included everyone. He didn't like what they were doing, but He still loved them, and so can we.

Even when dealing with adversaries and enemies, we can "love our enemies" with the same kind of love that Jesus had for His. We should always forgive others, and we should probably always be kind to them, but that doesn't mean that we have to like them.