Prayer
Heavenly Father, you are truly gracious and loving. You have shown us great love by loving us by sending your Son Jesus Christ to die for us while we were still your enemies. But the richness of your love does not end there; you love all of your enemies. Yet it is so difficult for us to release our pride and our wounds to you. Give us the strength to forgive, because we know that you have forgiven us.
Reflection
How would you respond to the death of one of your enemies? Saul has been David’s enemy for years, but David takes no satisfaction from this news. David laments. He weeps and tears his clothes. David is not feigning grief, rather grief has overtaken him. This is not a typical reaction upon hearing the fate of your enemy. So why does David react in this way? On one level, David’s beloved friend Jonathan was killed along with Saul (v. 25-27) which brought David great anguish. But David had multiple times when he spared Saul’s life because Saul was anointed by God as King of Israel. Saul’s office as the Lord’s anointed was to be honored above everything else. As David viewed it; to strike Lord’s anointed is to strike the Lord himself.
Questions
- Have you ever watched the demise or suffering of your “enemy” or someone who made life very difficult for you? What was your reaction?
- Read Matthew 5:38-48: What does Jesus say about loving your enemies? How did Jesus exemplify this in Luke 23:34?
- What makes forgiving our enemies so difficult?
- How can you show Christ’s love to an enemy?
Posted by Aaron Miner
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