Bless Those Who Persecute You {Romans 12:14}

 

It is the radical call of the cross. The impossible command.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Roman 12:14

Bless.

Those who hurt you, those who pursue you with unkind intent, those who oppress you because of Whose you are… bless them.

Peter said it too:

“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9

Even Jesus Himself said it:

“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Luke 6:27-28

Over and over… bless.

This is love lived – to bless those who do evil. To serve those whose aim is destruction. To feed your enemies.

This is loving your neighbor as yourself… because those who hurt are your neighbors too.

Yet when children are beheaded for believing in Jesus Christ, when women are raped and sold as slaves, when in our own land those who profess to be Christians may be murdered, where do we find the place in ourselves to love those who wound so violently?

This radical command is impossible because we can not do it in our own strength. But with God all things are possible. Only in Christ, Who suffered and died for us, can we find the way to love.

Please take a moment and watch this video, and pray. Pray for those who are persecuted across our planet home. Pray for those who persecute.

And today, choose love when worldly reason tells you otherwise.