Loving enemies when we've been wronged?
Q: I’m confused about why the Bible says love your enemies. I get if it’s someone who just annoys you or makes you mildly miserable but it’s a completely different thing when that person has ruined your life and gets no repercussions. My mom abused me for 23 years (I couldn’t leave sooner because of her even when I tried), helped drive me to the point of trying to off myself, and cheated on my dad with my brother’s friend.
What does she get out of this? Not accountability, that’s for sure. Everyone is just like “oh, hurt people hurt people” and basically telling me to be easy on her and talk to her again. Where were they telling my mom to be easy on me? Why does the abuser always get defended while the abused is expected to be the bigger person? I even felt God tell me to unblock my mom (so I did) even though I’d literally rather 💀 than have her back in my life. Even stepping foot in the city she lives in is off the table. If someone wants me back there it better be in an urn.
A: Truth is all sin is done against God, your sins and hers, as it is with everyone else. Your not perfect and without guilt either.
Sinful people can only do whats in their nature, sin. They do things with selfish motives. This is a fallen world and sin continues until Jesus returns.
We, are to be Christlike. He was mistreated, beaten and murdered. We pick up our cross and follow after Him. The world hates God, thus will hate us too. But we are to be the light to them, pointing to Christ and the Gospel.
By God transforming us,we are to love our enemies and those who harm us. They're trapped in their sin nature and know no better. Just as Jesus said Father forgive them for they know not what they do, we too are to be that minded.
Following God's in righteousness, we live out the love of God. We seek to bless and minister to the lost, and hope they get saved too.
Ultimately everyone's sins will be paid for on Christ or on themselves. But if in Christ, we're grateful, and our new nature is focused on right and holy living, (which also results forgiving, and helping lead folk to God).
If in Christ, we have a different attitide/mindset, and desire reconciliation and pray for them to be saved and living in Christ. I would pray on this to God, seek the Word, and submit to God, & grow in the Fruit of the Spirit, so you can become who God wants you to be.
God is in the restoration business. Evidently by ones salvation; radical transformation - a personal miracle. If he can do that, he can do anything. He is God.
Let God work on you, and then you can do your best to reconcile with your mom, and have a relationship of sorts, to minister to her and prayerfully lead her to Christ.
I've been working on mine for 25 hrs, but God gives peace in the midst of it all. Not disowning but seeking to live Christlike befire them. He guides and leads bit by bit. Mine profess Christ now, but there's a good ways to go still; if not here, all will be resolved in eternity. We'll be perfected upon entrance, and none of these past things will ever be an issue. We won't even think about them. All Things will be new and right as they should be. For now, what matters is having a godly mindset so you can handle the past and present, with a focus on the future hope. People might do evil, or mean something fur evil [as Scripture reveals], but... God works out all things for good. He's gonna take care of it all. Trust Him.
God bless
