If you are a Christian, are you doing as Jesus instructed us? “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Matthew 5:44-45.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, are we not to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and to not resist the evil? Did Jesus open His mouth as He was being persecuted? “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” Do you pray for the leaders of our government, even if you don’t agree with them? As the Messiah was being crucified He said this, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”

I was recently pondering some of my friends posts on social media and the current affairs of this world. I don’t need to go into what your opinions are on the left, or on the right. Regardless of what your political stance may be, none of it matters. Did Jesus come speaking upon such things? He called them all hypocrites. We as a body of believers need to take council from the words of Jesus Christ, “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” We all should know that we don’t war against flesh and blood.

As the world around us is tearing apart at the seams, it is the right time to walk in Love. Even to those who are without. “Have your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

I had a neighbor who shared a common wall years ago, in an apartment building . Meaning that, his living room wall and my living room wall, were backed up against each other. I was probably only there a week or so and was playing Christian music on the radio. It wasn’t loud by any means. Yet, he began screaming and yelling, pounding on the wall, causing things to shake, and pretty upset. After turning the radio down and praying on the matter, I felt prompted to go next door, introduce myself, and offer him some food that we had just made. After a while, understanding that his life had been hard, he was dealing with an immense amount around him, and he was dying from emphysema, it didn’t matter anymore to me that my neighbor had been a total… fill in the blank with whatever word comes to mind.

By being kind, despite having someone be miserable and angry, you typically receive a friend from someone who may have become your enemy. I have had this experience on more than one occasion. An act of love, often leads to tender mercies, as we walk in the Spirit to those who are without. And if it doesn’t, at least you can stand proud, knowing that you have done as our Father in Heaven commanded us.

In the Movie God’s Not Dead, we see an atheist professor who is struggling with his own belief in God. Through faith, love, and tender mercy; even at the very end, we all have a chance to turn back to Him. We don’t always know what impact we will inevitably have on someone. Maybe, just maybe, your act of kindness will be what pulls them out of the fire, even if you aren’t aware of it until the final day.

Jonathan Heller – Lift Up A Banner