Jesus loves those who persecute Him.

Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. At this point in Paul’s application of receiving the mercies of God, it seems his mind turned to how those mercies should impact our relationships with those who cross our paths who are outside the body of Christ. It’s not that some of the following verses might not at times apply to other believers, but he turned to those who persecute you in this verse, and he’s still has our enemies in mind in verses 20-21. So today’s Scripture encourages us in how to love those who do us harm. Since we are living to love with Jesus, offering a living, holy sacrifice acceptable to God so that He can be glorified, we shouldn’t be surprised if Paul taught his readers to love their enemies like Jesus did. Let’s draw some added encouragement from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. I am assuming Paul learned this from Jesus, Himself. Matthew 5:43-44. “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Peter echoes Jesus in and from Peter’s letter. 1 Pet. 2:20-23. “But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you can example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;” We may feel like cursing rather than blessing those who harm us, but let’s think about what we have done to Jesus and what He has done for us in return. Our sins are certainly destructive to His name, and if we have ever caused harm to one member of His body, then we have persecuted Jesus. Yet, we have received abundant mercy—new mercies every morning. Do we need to repent of persecuting Jesus because of how we have treated someone who is a part of His and our body? The best way to repent is to bless those who persecute us like He has blessed us. Furthermore, let’s remember that such love for our persecutors is what living to love with Jesus looks like. It proves what the will of God is—that we bring Him glory by offering ourselves to Him according to His great mercy. So from today until “that day” let us bless those who persecute us; bless and do not curse. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com