A short talk for a Catechesis slot in a church service.

<aside> 💡 It’s your birthday, and you are having a party. Who do you invite?

• Family - mum, dad, brother, sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins
• Friends - whole class at school, a few close friends
• Enemies??

Would you ever invite one of your ‘enemies’?

• The person who gives you a hard time at school
• The person who says unkind words to you
• The person who doesn’t include you in games
• The person who takes the mickey out of your for going to church

</aside>

You probably wouldn’t invite one of your ‘enemies’ to your party. You’d find it difficult to.

Now this makes some words that Jesus says both surprising and challenging.

The Bible tells us that there are two ways of living in this world, but only one of them leads to eternal life, and that’s the life of trusting and following the Lord Jesus Christ.

The other way of living, that of rejecting, ignoring, and disobeying Jesus, is the way that leads to death and hell.

It is important for those who trust in Jesus to know how to live as His followers on this way of life.

Jesus says we are to follow Him on the way of life by loving God and loving our neighbour because that is how He lived!

And loving your neighbour includes loving your enemy.

Someone put it like this.

<aside> 💬 “Now the teaching of these words is this. Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you. For what credit is it to you, if you love those who love you? Do the people of the nations not do the same? But you should love those who hate you, and you will not have an enemy.”

</aside>

This is how Jesus says we are to treat our enemies.

<aside> 📖 Matthew 5:43-45: “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

</aside>

When we love our enemies we are like our heavenly Father who has loved His enemies.

He loved us when we were His enemies by sending Jesus to save us.

So if we are following Jesus on the way that leads to life we will love our enemies.

How can we do that?

By blessing them - speaking kind words to them; doing good to them and for them.

By praying for them - for those who hurt us to trust in Christ; for God to help us to love them.