“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . .” Matthew 5:44, TLV

Don’t you think it’s worth finishing Yeshua’s sentence? “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.” (Matthew 5:44-45, TLV) That’s how we’ll be recognized as children of our Heavenly Father? We love and pray for our enemies? Yep.

Uh oh.

But, what about those who say horrible things about our faith? Yep, we’re supposed to love and pray for them. What about those who fire me from my job because I spoke out about my faith? Yep, we’re to love and pray for them, too.

Uh oh.

I realized something this morning, had our Father in heaven NOT loved us when we were His enemies, we wouldn’t be His children today.

This is love—not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atonement for our sins. 1 John 4:10, TLV

We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19, TLV

What if our Heavenly Father only sent His Son to redeem those who weren’t His enemies? Because, after all, they were worthy of redemption. Our path and destination would look a whole lot different. Can we all say, “Toda raba! Thank You very much!” that He prepared our redemption while we were still His enemies?

Let’s say it then. Toda raba! Thank You very much! And then, let’s follow Jesus’s command, “Love our enemies and pray for them.” Because we know how that feels.