When Jesus said to love your enemies, he did not mean to kill them

When an expert of the Jewish Law asks Christ what is the greatest commandment, He knows this question is trivial. Every Jew from an early age must memorize the Sh’ma, which says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, The Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”(Deut. 6:4-5) The lawyer knew this, Jesus knew this, and every Jew knew the potency of this commandment. To give everything that God has blessed upon us as a living sacrifice to his glory is our greatest responsibility as God’s creation. So Jesus fed him that passage, but he also added, “The second commandment is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31)

In a similar passage a lawyer responds asking, “Who is my neighbor?” Christ then goes into the parable of the Good Samaritan. Basically answering the question saying even those whom you ought to hate the most are your neighbors. So if that is what our neighbor looks like, then what does it look like to love them. Our example of love comes from the only one who can perfectly love. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) While we were still in complete opposition to God’s will he poured grace upon us. Even though God knows that we will continue to dig through the trash after he pours out his grace upon us.

So loving our neighbor includes giving to the poor, regardless of how they will use what we give them. If they are going to take the money to buy drugs, booze, or porn, that ought to be no hindrance to our love, for how often do we do far worse things with the greater things that God has given us. Loving your neighbor also means that even if someone maliciously attacks our fellow countrymen, we are not to fight back, but be merciful as God shows mercy. “Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers…” (Eph 6:12)

Another ridiculous kicker Christ throws onto this response is: “There is no other commandment greater than these.” So often we put other commandments above these; trying to be holy as God is holy, having an excellent work ethic, being subservient to one’s government, providing for one’s family, staying comfortable, etc. What are you treating as your second commandment? What is more important to you than loving your neighbor?