How to Love Like Jesus and Live a Fully Human Life

Dr. Jim Herrington & Trisha Taylor | The Leader's Journey | Sunday, March 16, 2025

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 Text: Matthew 5:38-48

Our world is trending toward polarization, conflict and hostility. Who wants to live like that? What options do we have?

Reflect: How have your own relationships changed related to these trends? 

All of us want things to be better . . . but how we go about trying to make things better may vary: 

·       We try to change other people

·       We exclude other people

·       We stick our heads in the sand and hope someone else will make things better

How do Jesus’ teachings help us think about that differently, in a way that will have an impact? 

 This passage teaches us to love like God loves. The ultimate form of love is enemy love, the most hard-to-love person. And this needs to be developed as a skill. This is a practice—Jesus meant it.

Jesus describes what we do when we’re not following him: we sort people into categories, we love the people in our own families, friend groups, people who think like we do . . . Jesus challenges us to go all the way to the hardest expression of God’s love: to love our enemies. 

Reflect: make a list: who are my enemies? Or at least the ones who make me twitchy? Or the ones who I avoid and judge and exclude? 

How do I learn to love like God loves – to love my enemies?

We love our enemies by engaging. This is a skill set that we practice over time. 

1.    We learn to stay present even when we have strong feelings. We learn to tolerate those feelings so that we can more fully engage the relationship.

2.    We set good boundaries. Being clear about what we will or won’t do or will or won’t tolerate makes it safer for us to engage our enemies.

3.    We go slow. We don’t have to start with the hardest relationship or the hardest conversations.

4.    We pray for our enemies. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus specifically tells us to pray for our enemies. We pray for their wellbeing.

5.    We serve our enemies. In Matthew 5:38-39, Jesus reminds us to serve and give, even to our enemies.

6.    We get encouragement and accountability in a safe and challenging way.

Reflect: what is one step you’re willing to take to love an enemy? Will you give your word to yourself and God? Who will you ask to help you to be accountable?