"Can a Christian be in love with God and have enemies among men?"
I'm sure many Christians out there want to hear an answer to that question. I'm sure that many Christians around the world find themselves having unwanted enemies, people who often ridicule or persecute them for being Christian.
In this article we will take a look at what the Bible says about the matter.
When love for God means taking a stand
Many Christians in different parts of the world face varying levels of persecution.
Some Christians in countries such as Egypt and North Korea face horrific levels of persecution: their churches bombed while services are ongoing, or their very selves thrown into prison and punished for simply believing and confessing Christ Jesus as Lord.
Some Christians in other countries, on the other hand, don't face such levels of persecution. They are able to exercise Christianity freely. In fact, the level of persecution might be so low they don't seem to care about holding the line anymore, and so they compromise.
Friends, the Bible tells us that if we are going to truly follow Christ, persecution is not an optional thing. While blessings are promised, persecutions are promised too:
"So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life." (Mark 10:29-30)
But why do we face persecution anyway? Why must we subject ourselves to such an unpleasant thing?
It's because we follow Christ.
"Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." (John 15:20)
Why do people persecute us? It's because they don't know Christ. Jesus said this Himself in John 15:20, saying:
"But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me."
What's the connection?
Perhaps by now you're asking, "what's the connection between loving God and having enemies?" There's a huge connection:
Anyone who makes Himself a friend of God and a follower of Christ will be an enemy of worldliness and the god of this world, Satan (see James 4:4). 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us that the devil influences the people who persecute us:
"...whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."
If we follow Christ, we will always have enemies. But the real enemy is not man, but the devil. Ephesians 6:12 tells us,
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
The real enemy
And so, friends, here's the conclusion of the matter: if we love God and follow Christ and obey His commands, we will have enemies. But our real enemies aren't the people who persecute us, but the devil who influences them to persecute us.
So, can a Christian love God and have enemies among men?
We can love God, and have persecutors. But we must never hate men; rather, we must hate the real enemy, and desire that our human persecutors be saved by Christ.
