There are so many different kinds of love. There is the love you have for your family. The love you have for your spouse or loved one. There is the love you have for your pets. The love you have for God. However, the hardest kind of love is the love you are told to have for your enemies.

You see, we choose to love our family, friends, pets, God…but often times we don’t choose to love our enemies. The reason why is simple and clear. They hurt us in some way and we don’t feel like they deserve our love. However, we are told to love our enemies no matter what the circumstance.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good  to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Matthew 5:44-45

When I read this passage I see three things. First, we are told to love our enemies and to pray for them. Second, by showing our enemies love, we are being examples of who God is.  Third, God is the ultimate example of loving those who do you harm. He never said it was easy, but it is our duty to love, just as He loves us.

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God had sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God  so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” – 1 John 4: 9-11

When I read about what happened at the cross, I see Jesus’ perfect love for us. He came down to earth so that He may live among men. He healed and saved many, yet He was still unappreciated in His time. He was wrongly accused of crimes He didn’t commit. In the end, He was tortured and put on the cross to die a horrible and painful death.

However, He went through all that because He loves us. Even those who tortured, abandoned, betrayed, and mocked Him. He loved them all. He continues to love those who do these things to Him now. Why? Because Gods love has no limits. If we are to be His children, we must do the same.

I, myself, have been wrongly accused, betrayed, mocked and hurt so many times by others. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve been hurt by those whom I barely know and those closest to me. The way I used to handle it was by cutting that person out of my life. In the end, I would just “forget” everything and move on with my life. That wasn’t the best way to handle things.

As I got older, I realized that the amount of time it would take for me to forgive someone depended on how close I was with them. If we were very close, I would forgive them immediately because of the love I had for them. If the person was just starting to get close to me, it would be much harder for me to forgive because I expected so much from them. Normally it’s the other way around, but I guess I always did things backward. Neither tactic was a good way to deal with forgiveness.

My original strategy gave the illusion of forgiveness. I would “forget” about what the person did to me but I never really forgave them. In reality, I was just putting the thought out of sight and was still angry with them if I ever did come across them. My second strategy wasn’t any better. Yes, I did learn how to forgive everyone, but only if they proved themselves to me. Those closest to me had proven themselves to me sometime in the past, so it was easier to forgive them. Those who I didn’t know as well had to work for my forgiveness. It wasn’t until recently that I realized the error of my ways.

How do I know I was wrong? Because I know that our goal is to be more like Jesus. When we read His story, we see that when someone came to Him in repentance, He forgave them. Even those who were not repenting at the cross He forgave. He prayed for them, that God may forgive them for what they were doing.

“Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’” – Luke 23:34

You see, Jesus could have been angry with them. He could have said harsh things to them. Instead, He prayed for their forgiveness. He chose to love them. Any and every time someone did something to hurt Him, He chose to love them. It wasn’t about whether they are worthy or not because if that were the case, no one would be worthy. It is because of His limitless love for us that we are forgiven. In that same way, we must choose to love our enemies. In all honesty, sometimes they don’t know what they are doing or why they are doing it. As children of God, we need to show the love and compassion that lives in us through Him.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love,” – 1 John 4:7-8

I know it’s not an easy task. We are humans after all. It is not a sin to be angry. However, it is the actions we take when we are angry that matter. We cannot let our emotions dictate what we do. We can be angry, just don’t let your anger cause you to sin.

“‘Be angry, and do not sin.’ Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” – Ephesians 4: 26-27

It is not just that we need to follow Jesus’ example, but when we hold on to that anger we are only hurting ourselves. I don’t know about you, but after some time I realized that holding on to anger was such a burden. I would be having a good day and then the name of that person would come up and instantly I was in a bad mood. Why would I want to live like that? Forgiveness sets you free from that burden.

“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret- it only causes harm.” – Psalm 37:8

Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. It is easy to stay mad at someone. To let your anger lead you and your actions. It is hard to forgive and to pray for those who have hurt you. However, when you pray, ask God to give you the love and strength you need to forgive that person and that He also forgive them for hurting you. By choosing love over hate, we can be transformed into what God intended us to be. Therefore, love without limits.

“Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”- Colossians 3:13