“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

If ever a person had a right to be angry with people, it was Jesus.

Think about it: while he was being nailed to a cross, the blood being spilled with every swing of the hammer was on behalf of the people who were committing the crime.

Have you ever felt angry because someone didn’t recognize your good deeds? Or better yet, have you ever experienced righteous anger (anger that is focused toward something genuinely unjust), only to then let it become concentrated on a person?

If you have, the good news for you is that Jesus also exhibited righteous anger. The better news, he never allowed his righteous anger to be focused on people. People were not his enemy. Ever.

The reason Jesus didn’t see people as enemies (even though many people viewed him as such) is quite simple: he came to die for the sins of the whole world. The cross of Christ represents the offer of forgiveness to every person, no matter how corrupt or unscrupulous some might be.  

When we belong to Jesus, we also must give up the right to keep human enemies. If we ever hope to manifest the love and character of God on the earth, we must understand that no person is beyond the reach of Jesus’ redemptive power.

Our battle is a spiritual one, and our enemy is not a person or a group of people, it is the spiritual forces of darkness at work in the world whose sole aim is to keep people under the grasp of sin’s power, distant from God and unaware of Jesus’ offer of redemption.

That’s why every time we forgive others, pray for those who would cause us harm, come to the aid of someone in distress, or share the gospel with a stranger, we are doing more to defeat the real enemy then we ever could by wielding a sword or loading a gun.

When our eyes are open to the real battle we are engaged in, human enemies become a thing of the past. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, and we never fight against people. We always fight for them. 

Is there an area of your life where you’re currently engaged in the wrong kind of battle? Have you allowed a person or group of people to become your enemy? Pray for them now, and ask God to help you see where the real battle lies.