“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44a, ESV)
I hate this game. I hate this game. I hate this game. (Bunker shot falls miraculously into the hole.) I love this game!
And that, my friends, is conditional love. When the game treats you well, you love it. When it treats you not-so-well, well….
Jesus knew all about conditional love, and he knew that virtually everyone practiced it, even in his day. “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.” (Matthew 5:46, NLT)
It does seem that on some days golf is an ill-treated guard dog, growling and out to get you, while on other days it takes on the demeanor of your favorite puppy, fetching your morning paper and hoping you’ll rub its tummy.
But those who only love golf when it loves them will not play often or long. If you truly love the game, you will love it when it is biting you in the ankle, just as you’ll love it when it is licking your face.
What of those against whom we compete at golf? If he holes a lucky shot, do I hate him? If he concedes a putt, do I love him? Even in match play, the other players in the field are your opponents, not your enemies. Play the best opponents you can, because they’ll make you a better player.
While learning to love golf and our golf opponents may be helpful, the challenge comes with our earthly enemies. Jesus has some “counterculture” guidance for his followers regarding their enemies: love them.
Enemies come in two forms: those whom we have made our enemies, and those who have made us their enemy. In the verse above, Jesus is talking about the second kind. Perhaps that’s because he doesn’t expect us to have any of the first kind, though some of us do.
If some man has made you his enemy, are you really supposed to love him? Yes. But this is not romantic love; it is moral love, which is in some ways a higher love. Jesus went on to say, “And pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. …You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Perfect here doesn’t mean “without flaw.” Rather, it means “complete.” If you only love people who love you, your love is incomplete. If you only love people who love you and people with whom you have no relationship at all, your love is incomplete. If you love all those people and you love your enemies, your love is complete.
Sending a Valentine’s Day card to your enemies is optional. Loving them is not.
—
Lewis Greer
February 14, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.