Love Your Enemies

It’s tough to pull a surprise on me, but we sang a verse today that I had never seen, and it fits so well with the message today. From Hymn 246, it came upon the midnight clear. It’s fascinating that that third verse, which I can almost never read without shedding a tear, because it speaks of those that are just languishing in sin. And we see it everywhere.

Verse three says, all ye beneath life’s crushing load whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow. It just gives you such an image of those without Christ. Look now for glad and golden hours, come swiftly on the wing and rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing.

That’s not the verse I was alluding to. It’s verse number two, which was surprising and it fits so well with the message. It says this, yet with the woes of sin and strife, and you think of all the bickering and fighting and warring and All that goes on between humans, it just, that’s a very articulate way to say it.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife, the world has suffered long. Beneath the angel’s strain have rolled 2,000 years of wrong. And man, at war with man, hears not the love song they bring. Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing.”

What that tells us is, as I’ve even said, there should not be this strife between believers, and so It’s a beautiful articulation of the call to peace, which is our passage this morning.

We come to Romans chapter 12 in order to complete our, what is a review of this powerful chapter. And so if you would, the Lord’s people turn in your Bibles to Romans and chapter 12. Paul has been speaking very straightforwardly here in this chapter, applying the doctrine that he outlined in the previous 11 chapters, and he’s addressing these applications to his readers, the Roman church, and all subsequent readers as well, including us.

His opening line of chapter 12, present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, directly calls believers to a life of personal sacrifice, sacrificial living as we have referred to it. And over the course of the rest of the chapter, Paul details that exhortation to his church. that we are to be transformed evermore into the likeness of our Savior, Jesus, and less and less conformed to the pattern of the world.

And this is one of the keys to the church impacting her world for the sake of the gospel. The church, the people of God, must look different than the people of the world. They must interact differently. They must hold to different and higher affections than the world. And when individuals are transformed by the grace of God, the church naturally reflects that change. She becomes a church that lives humbly, as we saw, lives in sound judgment, they work in harmony as one body of Christ, and they serve appropriately, that is, in the faithful exercise of their own God-given gifts.

But nowhere is this transformation more needed than in the realm of personal relationships. And in verse nine, Paul turns to begin to address the Christian’s attitude and demeanor toward those around him or her, other believers, first and foremost, in verses nine through 13, people in general, in verses 14 through 16, as we saw last week, and even those who present themselves to us as our enemies. verses 17 through 21.

When we consider the way that the world relates to one another and the way that God’s people relate to one another, the most dramatic difference will be seen in the way they relate to their enemies. The people of the world treat their enemies like enemies. The church is not to follow suit in that. If we were to duck into any gathering of unbelievers, there would be a level of camaraderie between them, among them rather. And it’s similar to the church. There’s a camaraderie here among us. The people of the world, however, the non-Christians, sometimes even supersede the general civility toward other people in the church. They’re chums, buddies.

But when it comes to the way that we respond to enemies, that great contrast is very evident. The people of the world have an utterly different and thoroughly unchristian way of dealing with those who have through whatever means, become their enemies. The world has its own strategies for dealing with those who are at odds with them. It’s ugly, it’s cruel, and it’s painful. Instead of solving and bringing an end to the strife, the world and their methods tend to perpetuate and even deepen conflicts. so that things almost always go from bad to worse among the people of the world.

It’s justified. We tend to justify it at our earliest age with phrases like, he started it. She did it first. My grandmother used to have a word for it, comeuppance. Comeuppance occurs when someone gets what they deserve to everyone’s delight. The Hindus have an entire tenet devoted to this called karma. And along these lines, one country singer, Carrie Underwood, won a Grammy boasting about vandalizing her boyfriend’s pickup. If you pause and think about it, revenge is baked right into our culture. We hear it in the music of the world, we see it in movies, and we absolutely have it in sports. Vengeance is the way that the people of the world deal with their enemies.

But this cannot be the way of the Christian. It cannot be the way of the church. And because this is not the way of our Savior, Jesus addressed this human tendency head on in his Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5. In the course of correcting a lot of people’s thinking, sinful thinking, Jesus challenged in Matthew 5. You’ve heard it said that you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, for he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And so in contrast with the natural tendency of the human heart, we are called to love our enemies. Our Lord Jesus Christ would have us to be peaceable and kind, not hateful and warring.

And it’s this particular matter that Paul moves to address in the close of this chapter, verses 17 through 21. But for our purposes this morning, I want to dial it back just one verse to the final sentence of verse 16 as we glide seamlessly into 17 through 21. Glance, if you would, at the end of verse 16.

Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men, if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink, for in so doing, you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

If I may, let me explain to you why we began with that final sentence of verse 16, because we did consider it last Lord’s Day in our consideration of 14 through 16. And what Paul was addressing there is our demeanor towards others in general. But this sentence, do not be wise in your own estimation, functions as kind of a hitch pin between these two subsections. Verses 14 through 16 and 17 through 21. The final sentence of verse 16 could be taken with either of those sections. Or it could do, as I’ve chosen to do this morning, it could be joined to both as as i said the link pin you see the first four statements in verses 17 through 19 are participles i know it takes you back to eighth grade english but hear me uh you hear me talk about these things from time to time as who verbs or as ing verbs just bear with me your grammar lesson for the day A who verb functions like this. The boy who was running fell. And it’s usually boys. The boy fell. That’s the main information, but we’re provided some additional information. He was running. He fell because he was running. The sentence could also be translated with an ing verb. The running boy fell. Same situation, the same ideas communicated. That’s what participles do. They provide us with important information, additional information, even if it isn’t the primary point of the passage.

If you would glance there, as I try to clarify, four of these participles occur in verses 17 through 19 right off the bat. There is no main verb. Literally, it could read, to no one evil for evil giving back. No main verb. Same thing in the next sentence. It literally says, thinking before you all good. No main verb. Same thing in verse 18. Literally, being at peace with all men, And the same thing again in verse 19. Not yourselves bringing out revenge. There’s no main verb in any of those statements. But they have to fit somewhere. And the most reasonable solution is to hang them all on the statement that Paul makes at the end of verse 16. Do not be wise in your own estimation. which makes those participial sentences in 17 through 19 effectively applications of that command. So verse 16 functions, as I said, a hitch pin. It connects the thoughts that Paul is communicating there in 14 through 16 very nicely with what he communicates in 17 through 19.

What he’s doing is showing us what a humble demeanor looks like. especially in dealing with enemies. Well, such a humble demeanor will primarily be seen in the way that we treat one another. And as Jesus commanded, it’s not a big thing that we are to love our family, love our friends, love our brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s a given, and it should come easy. But Jesus said, we’re to love even our enemies. And may I say here that these enemies are not people that we have identified and determined as enemies. We are not at enmity with them. We shouldn’t be. They are at enmity with us. They have initiated the battle. They have sustained their hatred of us, not the other way around. and we are to love even our enemies. This is not an easy thing to do. In fact, it can only be done by God’s grace with divine help through prayer, through God’s word, by his spirit. But here in 17 through 21, Paul does give us some assistance. He presents five principles for loving our enemies. Five different ways of dealing in a godly manner with our earthly foes, loving even our enemies. First of all, if we’re to love our enemies, the first principle that Paul lays out for us here in verse 17 is the principle of restraint. The principle of restraint, and specifically restraint from retribution. Look at verse 17. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.

The first thing that I would point out about this very first principle is the superlative nature of it. Never, and anyone, never pay back evil for evil to anyone. And obviously treating a fellow believer in this way would be unthinkable, especially in light of Paul’s earlier admonitions, verse nine, let love be without hypocrisy, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. It’s unthinkable that a Christian should ever retaliate against another believer.

But one of the superlative elements of that sentence is anyone. Revenge cannot be justified even against the harshest cruelty of a person of the world. So important is this principle that Paul reiterates it and elaborates upon it further in verses 19 and 20. Never take your own revenge, Paul says. And we’ll touch on that verse momentarily.

Now, as I said, the new American standard here doubles down on the superlative nature of this statement. But the word never isn’t found in the Greek. But the idea is there. If we’re not to pay back evil for evil to anyone, then logically we’re never to do so. Under no circumstances are we to return evil to anyone. Evil doing should not be in the Christian’s arsenal.

When Paul says evil for evil, he’s talking about revenge, getting back at someone, getting even with someone, someone who has done us wrong. No way, Paul says, never to anyone. A Christian is not to carry themselves about in a spirit of vindictiveness. He or she is not to retaliate in kind. This tendency is so prevalent that scripture again and again addresses this sinful habit.

Jesus addressed it, as I said, in the Sermon on the Mount. You’ve heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Not so for the Christian. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul addressed it in that rough and tumble church, chapter five, verse 15. See to it. that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.

There in 1 Thessalonians, he assigns the leaders of that church, the elders, with the responsibility of overseeing this all too common inclination of returning evil for evil. but he says it publicly in his letter to them so that every believer knows the impropriety of revenge. The Apostle Peter essentially gives us the same warning, 1 Peter 3, 8, and 9, positive and negative. To sum up, let all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil or insult for insult. but giving a blessing instead.

Now this said, we should attend to the inevitable question, is it always wrong to seek restitution for damage to property or person? And I would say that scripture absolutely does allow for Christians to pursue recourse through legal means, lawsuits and that kind of thing. We just don’t do it with a vindictive spirit. In other words, it’s not wrong to seek to defend family or property or character, but we do so with the goal of restoring those things, not with an attitude of evening the score. We do not respond in kind, kicking the neighbor’s dog or damaging his car or assailing someone’s character. We are commanded to love our enemies. And we’re to do so not only by restraining ourselves from evil for evil, but secondly, if you would, glance again at verse 17, never pay back evil for evil to anyone, but secondly, he gives us the principle of civility. The principle of civility, respect what is right in the sight of all men.

Paul’s second principle here is positive, not negative. He tells us what we ought to do, not what we ought not to do. He tells us basically to live civilly, which fits right in with what Paul has been saying all along in this section. We ought to be others-oriented. We ought to live as though we’re not the only person in this planet, on this universe. We ought to be others-oriented. The way that Paul says it here is, respect what is right in the sight of all men.

Paul quotes in this section very heavily from the Proverbs. In verse 16, he quoted Proverbs 3.7. Do not be wise in your own eyes. In verse 20, he quotes from Proverbs 25. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he’s thirsty, give him water to drink. For you will heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you. And he quotes, or at least he alludes here in the end of 17 to Proverbs 3.4, just listen. Do not let kindness and truth leave you, so you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Doing this, Solomon says, requires forethought. It requires of us intentionality.

Commenting on this remarkable verse, Charles Bridges, and by the way, I’ve said this before, his commentary, Charles Bridges’ commentary on Proverbs is the gold standard. I would even suggest that everybody ought to have a copy of it. Charles Bridges said this of that proverb, what is more lovely than to live down reproach by consistent godliness? You got somebody tearing you down, live through it. What is more acceptable to God or more edifying to the church? The scripture connects the favor of God with the favor of men, as if the one was often the fruit of another. That’s a beautiful thought.

We have to begin our day thinking kindness and truth. or as Paul characterized it here, respecting what is right in the sight of all. Literally here, Paul refers to that which is good, what is inherently appropriate, morally upright, honorable, And that would naturally include things such as hard work, courtesy, punctuality, selflessness, manners, politeness, graciousness, wisdom, helpfulness. Those things are right in the sight of all men. If you ever do one of those things, you’re not going to be castigated for it. You’re going to be commended. And what these writers of Scripture are pointing to is a basic, evident standard of decency on which everybody would agree, believers and unbelievers.

We ought to live our lives with others in view, as Paul says it in 1 Corinthians 10.32, give no offense either to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God. Or as he said it again in 2 Corinthians 8 21, have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but in the sight of all. Paul said it this way in Titus 2, that we are to be adorning the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. We should live in such a way that even our professed enemies have no just cause for recrimination. We want to live, as far as possible, a life that is not provoking of others, of all people. We should be those who do what is good and right.

Peter echoes this principle twice in his first letter. 1 Peter 2.12, keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles so that the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may, because of your good deeds as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. And in 1 Peter 3.16, he says the same thing. Keep a good conscience so that the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

We ought not provide the enemies of God a cause to blaspheme, avoiding anything that is questionable or that could bring reproach upon the gospel. Instead, we are to love even our enemies by respecting others and what is important to them.

There’s the third principle, the third of five that we see in verse 18. If we’re gonna love our enemies, we have to honor the principle of restraint, the principle of civility, and thirdly, the principle of diplomacy. Paul said it this way, if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. The third principle that Paul provides is this classic principle of diplomacy. And the bottom line here is that we are to pursue peace, like that previous principle with all men, with every person.

A simple exhortation here is to being what I would call peaceable, not provoking them, as in the immediately preceding principle of civility, but also according to that very first principle, not being stirred to anger, not being stirred to resentment, and not stirring others, rather, to resentment,

The writer of Hebrews admonished those Jewish converts to Christianity, Hebrews 12, 14. Pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. Every real believer recognizes the need of the grace of sanctification, growth in godliness, But together with that, the writer of Hebrews says, a pursuit of peace is vitally important. The Christian shouldn’t ever be the cause of strife, but if we find ourselves caught up in a skirmish, we should be quick to seek to restore peace. We should always stand ready to apologize for any slight, any wrongdoing, even if it’s unintentional. And we should always stand ready to forgive our brother, to forgive even our enemy.

Let me drive this point home. Would you flip over to 2 Corinthians 5 for just a moment? 2 Corinthians and chapter 5. This is just too good for me to just gloss over in a quick read. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and when you get there, glide down to verse 18.

Now, all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Namely, that God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he’s committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Here’s my point. Think of this. If God has reconciled us to himself, and he’s thereby granted to us the ministry of reconciliation, then we of all people should be peaceful, peace-preserving, peace-seeking, peace-restoring people. It comes with being a Christian.

James tells us, you can head back to Romans 12 if you would, James tells us that we are to be like the Lord in his slowness to anger. And this means that at times we’re going to be called upon by God to forgive the offenses of others with or without an apology from them. Did you hear that? We’re going to be called by God to forgive the offenses committed against us even without an apology from someone. We’re to have a heart of forgiveness toward them. Even before there’s any formal apology for some offense, we should allow the Holy Spirit to be at work in our hearts to the degree that full and lasting forgiveness of the individual is already in process. We shouldn’t need someone to come and grovel on their knees with some big long apology. We’ve committed sins that are far worse in God’s eyes against Him. This is the parable of the $10 million sin, right?

The Lord himself says that whenever you stand praying, forgive. If you have anything against anyone, that pretty much covers it, doesn’t it? Mark 11, 25, and in Matthew 18, Jesus insists that we forgive without ceasing, 70 times seven. even if you have a brother that continues to sin against you. Paul urges the liberality of this grace, both in Ephesians and Colossians, almost the same words, forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone.

And again, I take all that to mean that even before a person who has offended us, even before they come to us with an apology, we are to stand ready. We are to be well across that bridge of forgiveness and reconciliation by forgiving them already in our heart. It shouldn’t take a lengthy speech. Think of the prodigal son. Remember, he had a very well-written speech, and he got there, and no sooner did he begin to rehearse his speech before his father, the father cut him off. It shouldn’t take a well-written speech to garner our forgiveness.

Because of the abundant grace that God has shown to us by granting us forgiveness, we’re supposed to do likewise, to forgive as we have been forgiven. There’s one little caveat to this command to seek peace. It’s in our modern translations. It sounds as if there are two conditions. But it’s one condition, really, literally in the original, if it’s in your power. In short, to the degree that we are able to secure peace, we ought. We should do everything within our power to maintain or to recover peace between us and anyone.

And still, some unbelievers, Paul acknowledges, are going to be closed to the idea of pursuing peace. That shouldn’t be true of any Christian. Once offended, it is nearly impossible sometimes to restore peace with certain individuals. We cannot force them to reconcile with us, but we have to do our part. If they remain irreconcilable to us, Paul’s condition here releases us from discomfort. An unwillingness to reconcile is a terrifically graceless condition. And we may be dismayed at the continued breach in a relationship, but we need not be ashamed. When we’ve done all that we can, we can rest and leave it in the Lord’s hands, and to continue to pray and wait for the Spirit to invigorate a work of reconciliation.

We are to love even our enemies, and we’re to do so by means of our eager pursuit of reconciliation. We’re called upon to be diplomatic in our approach to those who have set themselves up as our enemies. And this diplomacy should be conducted as if we alone could bring about the peace. Do everything we can. And, I’ve said it before, if you’re at odds with someone even still, or if they’re at odds with you, then you have work left to do. There’s something still that could be done.

Verses 19 and 20, there’s a fourth means of loving our enemies. Not only the principle of restraint and civility and diplomacy, but fourth, the principle of reckoning. Would you look at verses 19 and 20? Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay. says the lord but if your enemy is hungry feed him if he is thirsty give him a drink for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head

we already considered a similar point earlier As I pointed out, Paul’s first principle there in verse 17, do not pay back evil for evil. As I indicated there, Paul would expand on that principle and he does so here in verses 19 and 20.

Before he can even take a breath though, he reminds the Roman readers of his affection for them. He calls them beloved. And he does so because he knows that this is a matter with which all believers are going to be convicted. It’s a difficult subject for Paul to address, and so he reminds them of his love for them. But still, he must, if he is to be a faithful shepherd, he must remind them of the offense that seeking revenge is against God.

This is a difficult thing for even the most godly believer. We’ve been unjustly treated. We have been objectively wronged. Anybody who could understand the situation would agree with us. We know it. Our close Christian friends know it. God knows it. Everyone except the perpetrator knows it. But that does not give us license to take matters into our own hands. Far better that we endure the ill treatment and the added lack of remorse by our would-be friend, then that we lower ourselves to respond in kind. Far better that we forgive the individual in our heart and entrust ourselves, as Peter says, to a faithful creator and to wait upon him. This is Christ’s way. who, as Peter tells us, left us an example to follow. Because even though he committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth, while being reviled, he did not revile in return.

The second admonition here, leave room for the wrath of God. It’s the first main verb that we’ve had in this entire section. And it’s an imperative. It’s a command. We are told to stand down and to allow God to deal with the wrongdoer. Admittedly, in the Greek text, it does not specifically assign this wrath to God, but it would be such a glaring contradiction to this entire passage that it cannot possibly be our own wrath. Leave room for our own wrath? That would be seeking revenge in itself. And it would go against everything that Paul has said. Plainly, we are to leave room for wrath, and obviously it’s the righteous wrath of God that he references.

The fact that Paul is referring to the wrath of God becomes even more evident by the explanation that Paul provides in verse 19. Leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. To quote from Deuteronomy 32, it’s the very text that Jonathan Edwards used in his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. God is a holy God, and therefore he is a God of justice. And in his righteousness, he must punish sin. And he will. But we are completely out of our league to enter into the exercise of vengeance and wrath. Those things are God’s prerogatives, not ours.

Rather than praying for God’s justice upon our enemies, we ought rather to pray for humble repentance. But beyond praying for our enemy, we are to do active good to him. It’s one thing to refrain from responding in kind, evil for evil. It’s quite another to care for and nurture him as a dear friend. But this is the very thing we’re called to do. We have an inclination to think that if we simply refrain from vengeance or we merely walk away from their unkind treatment, that we’ve done enough. Not so, says Paul. We are to lavish them with kindness.

Look at verse 20. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he’s thirsty, give him a drink. That’s right. We are to feed him. We are to assuage his thirst. We are to provide for his practical needs.

Jesus himself affirmed this very thing. I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, bless, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold from him your shirt either. Luke 6, 27 through 29.

This is the kind of thing that almost exclusively It’s the kind of response that only a true Christian can provide. They forecasted earlier, it’s a direct quote from Proverbs 25, 21, and 22, which concludes with this remarkable thought.

In so doing, you will heap burning coals upon his head. Please don’t take delight in that. It’s a terrifically misunderstood verse, this heaping of burning coals. There are those who actually see this as wishing the pain of judgment upon our enemies, whether immediate or future, divine punishment. And the spirit of such wishful thinking is entirely disconnected from Paul’s intention here.

The only reasonable explanation is that burning coals represents the remorse and the shame that comes upon an evildoer when his harsh treatment is met by Christ-like kindness. And hopefully, that shameful response leads such a person to repentance and faith.

Paul himself didn’t just teach this, he lived it. Remember Acts 16? Paul had a lively and fruitful ministry in Philippi. But he also drew the attention and ire of greedy locals who had him thrown in jail. But God in his might caused a great earthquake that eventually sprung the prison doors. And that poor jailer knew that this would lead to his own execution for losing all of his prisoners, and he prepared to take his own life.

But Paul and Silas, in their kindness, not only did they not flee, they urged that he do himself no harm. And that ultimately led to the jailer’s conversion. Paul did not return evil for evil. We are to love even our enemies.

And Paul closes out this section and this chapter with one final principle, verse 21. If we’re to love our enemies, we have to remember the principle of restraint and the principle of civility and diplomacy and reckoning. God will deal with sin.

But finally, we have to remember the principle of kindness. Verse 21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Paul comes to the last principle for dealing with our enemies, our earthly foes, and this one follows right on the heels of the previous. And it’s a fitting summary of the entire section. The Christian is going to face trouble in this life. We will face trials. As believers, we will endure evil treatment.

But we must not. Indeed, we cannot be overcome by it. To be overcome would mean to stoop to responding in kind. Right where Paul began, right where Paul began giving us his helpful principles, that of returning evil for evil, the tendency is to give in to anger, give in to resentment, uphold our revenge, That that response is not an indication of strength, not a mark of victory. It’s a sign of weakness and defeat.

Sinful responses are to be conquered by God’s grace. It is not enough to overcome, to not be overcome by evil. The victory is sealed by living out that final line. Overcome evil with good. And that last sentence points to the hope that by not losing heart in doing good, in due time we will reap. We’ve seen remarkable reconciliations in the course of 40 years of ministry, and it takes time. And we can’t quit praying. We can’t quit waiting. We can’t quit desiring and seeking and hoping for reconciliation.

We are to love even our enemies. Would you humble yourself before God? Our merciful King, we bow before you in the quietness of our hearts, and we do thank you for this passage. We know that this touches every one of us. And we know that because people are sinners. They’re sinners just like us. And Lord, we know that we cannot maintain a harsh consideration of a brother and sister in Christ, and they ought not hold such against us. But we know that it is common, especially with people who do not know the Lord Jesus. They can be harsh, unpredictable, and stone cold, hateful towards us. We are not to respond in kind.

Lord God, grant us the grace to persevere. With everyone in this room, there is someone with whom we are at odds, at least one, that we continue to pray. We continue to hope. We continue to seek. the reconciliation that would honor you. And so Lord, we do pray that you would grant us the grace to pursue that, even with our most hated enemy. Help us to think of and to follow through with some kindness, some expression of pursuit of peace with them that would resonate and bear fruit.

Lord God, For any in the room who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, He has done everything needed to reconcile sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ, to His heavenly Father. Father, we do pray, we who know this truth rejoice in what you have provided in our Lord Jesus. And we pray, Father, for any who do not know the reconciliation that Christ offers. He’s accomplished it all. Ours is yet to place our faith in Christ and to turn from our sin and to be forgiven and restored, to be reconciled to a holy God. That’s our plea, Lord. Grant us your grace in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.