Are the people you love your enemies?

March 28, 2014: Are the people you love your enemies? Please SHARE this new Precious Prodigal Post: http://bit.ly/1i1BaXx

2 Kings 19:17 “Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands…”

Surrounded by the armies of Assyria and with nowhere to turn, Hezekiah went to the Lord and sent word to Isaiah asking him to pray. What he did not do was minimize the threat. In his prayer, Hezekiah acknowledged that, “Of a truth” the kings of Assyria had conquered every nation they fought against and had destroyed those nations. No, he didn’t underestimate his enemy. Nor should we.

The first step in problem solving, of course, is identifying the problem. In exactly the same way, the first step in defeating an enemy is identifying the enemy. And when you take it to where the rubber meets the road, our “real” enemy isn’t the prodigal who is breaking our heart. Neither is it the husband who walked away, the parents who refused to acknowledge you or who rejected you, or the friend who betrayed you.

However much it might feel like those people are the enemy, they really aren’t. They have an enemy too, and it’s the same one you and I have. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us our real and ultimate enemy is Satan who, “…as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

I’m not saying that lets the people who hurt us totally off the hook. We need to be sensible about trusting people…especially those who have hurt us in the past. When someone shows us who they are, we need to pay attention.

However, if I can recognize that they are as desperate as King Hezekiah, surrounded on every side by the enemy but without hope, it will change my perspective. Rather than feeling “less than” or that it’s all about me, I might see the bigger picture and realize this isn’t a fight between that loved one and me at all. He or she is not the real enemy here.

Sometimes hurting men or women have asked me, “How could he/she do this, why won’t he just do what’s right, how could they walk away, or what’s wrong with me that they left me?” My answer is always the same. If that loved one could be what he needs to be, he would do what he needs to do. If he could do it for you, he would.

But it isn’t about you…it never was. It was and is about a battle they are waging and losing in this sin-sick world. I don’t have all the answers about acceptance or forgiveness or even moving on. I wish I did. But I do know this: You are precious and dear and valuable…whether you feel that way today or not. God saw you as someone worth dying for. Can anyone or anything be more valuable than that?

There may come a time when you need to put some distance between your loved one and you for a time. Just be sure when you do that, it’s not done in anger, bitterness or spite. And recognize that whatever battle they are fighting, you and I have a battle of our own…acceptance, forgiveness, and loving the unlovely. People in recovery call that detaching with love.

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, remind yourself that the person who hurt you is not the real enemy? If you need to detach, can you do it with love?