So I want to turn your attention to this subject:
"Loving Your Enemies." It’s so basic to
me because it is a part of my basic philosophical
and theological orientation—the whole idea
of love, the whole philosophy of love. In
the fifth chapter of the gospel as recorded
by Saint Matthew, we read these very arresting
words flowing from the lips of our Lord and
Master: "Ye have heard that it has been said,
‘Thou shall love thy neighbor, and hate
thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good
to them that hate you, and pray for them that
despitefully use you; that ye may be the children
of your Father which is in heaven."
Certainly these are great words, words lifted to cosmic proportions. ....
The  Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape. And agape is more than eros; agape is more than philia;
agape is something of the understanding, creative,
redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love
that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing
love; it’s what theologians would call the
love of God working in the lives of men. And
when you rise to love on this level, you begin
to love men, not because they are likeable,
but because God loves them. You look at every
man, and you love him because you know God
loves him. And he might be the worst person
you’ve ever seen.
And this is what Jesus means, I think, in
this very passage when he says, "Love your
enemy." And it’s significant that he does
not say, "Like your enemy." Like is a sentimental
something, an affectionate something. There
are a lot of people that I find it difficult
to like. I don’t like what they do to me.
I don’t like what they say about me and
other people. I don’t like their attitudes.
I don’t like some of the things they’re
doing. I don’t like them. But Jesus says
love them. And love is greater than like.
Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill
for all men, so that you love everybody, because
God loves them. You refuse to do anything
that will defeat an individual, because you
have agape in your soul. And here you come
to the point that you love the individual
who does the evil deed, while hating the deed
that the person does. This is what Jesus means
when he says, "Love your enemy." This is the
way to do it. When the opportunity presents
itself when you can defeat your enemy, you
must not do it.
So Jesus says love, because hate destroys
the hater as well as the hated.
Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus
says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that
love has within it a redemptive power. And
there is a power there that eventually transforms
individuals. That’s why Jesus says, "Love
your enemies." Because if you hate your enemies,
you have no way to redeem and to transform
your enemies. But if you love your enemies,
you will discover that at the very root of
love is the power of redemption. You just
keep loving people and keep loving them, even
though they’re mistreating you. Here’s
the person who is a neighbor, and this person
is doing something wrong to you and all of
that. Just keep being friendly to that person.
Keep loving them. Don’t do anything to embarrass
them. Just keep loving them, and they can’t
stand it too long. Oh, they react in many
ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness
because they’re mad because you love them
like that. They react with guilt feelings,
and sometimes they’ll hate you a little
more at that transition period, but just keep
loving them. And by the power of your love
they will break down under the load. That’s
love, you see. It is redemptive, and this
is why Jesus says love. There’s something
about love that builds up and is creative.
There is something about hate that tears down
and is destructive. So love your enemies.
And I’m proud to stand here in Dexter this
morning and say that that army is still marching.
It grew up from a group of eleven or twelve
men to more than seven hundred million today.
Because of the power and influence of the
personality of this Christ, he was able to
split history into a.d. and b.c. Because of
his power, he was able to shake the hinges
from the gates of the Roman Empire. And all
around the world this morning, we can hear
the glad echo of heaven ring:
Jesus shall reign wherever sun,
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom spreads from shore to shore,
Till moon shall wane and wax no more.
We can hear another chorus singing: "All hail
the power of Jesus name!"
We can hear another chorus singing: "Hallelujah,
hallelujah! He’s King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. Hallelujah, hallelujah!"
We can hear another choir singing:
In Christ there is no East or West.
In Him no North or South,
But one great Fellowship of Love
Throughout the whole wide world.
This is the only way.
that love is the only creative, redemptive,
transforming power in the universe.
So this morning, as I look into your eyes,
and into the eyes of all of my brothers in
Alabama and all over America and over the
world, I say to you, "I love you. I would
rather die than hate you." And I’m foolish
enough to believe that through the power of
this love somewhere, men of the most recalcitrant
bent will be transformed. And then we will
be in God’s kingdom. We will be able to
matriculate into the university of eternal
life because we had the power to love our
enemies, to bless those persons that cursed
us, to even decide to be good to those persons
who hated us, and we even prayed for those
persons who despitefully used us.
Oh God, help us in our lives and in all of
our attitudes, to work out this controlling
force of love, this controlling power that
can solve every problem that we confront in
all areas. Oh, we talk about politics; we
talk about the problems facing our atomic
civilization. Grant that all men will come
together and discover that as we solve the
crisis and solve these problems—the international
problems, the problems of atomic energy, the
problems of nuclear energy, and yes, even
the race problem—let us join together in
a great fellowship of love and bow down at
the feet of Jesus. Give us this strong determination.
In the name and spirit of this Christ, we
pray. Amen.
