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1 Samuel 24:19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. Does a man let his enemy "get away unharmed?" He does if he is a son of the Most High God; created in His image (Genesis 1:26-28). God "covered" His new enemy in Genesis 3:21 displaying his mercy and grace to those in rebellion against Him. In John 3:16 Jesus makes known the heart of God, and thus the character and conduct of God; which we are to emulate. Luke quotes Jesus in chapter 6 verses 27 and 35-36 as saying: "But I tell you who HEAR me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you...But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Clearly, our Teacher expects us to reflect our Heavenly Father's nature in our behavior toward our enemies and not simply profess our "belief" in His existence. Paul makes explicit the nature of God's character toward humanity in the death of Christ in Romans 5:10: "For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Thus the necessity of our behavior toward those who have harmed us must reflect our Father's, if in fact He is our Father. Connecting that idea to our behavior, Paul writes: "On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head” (from Proverbs 25:21-22). He continues: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:20-21). Peter explains the foundation for such beliefs and behavior when he writes: "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). This doctrine is an echo of Paul's words from Romans 5:6-8: "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The divine record is clear! We were God's enemies and yet God responded in mercy and grace, demonstrating His love. Does a man let his enemy "get away unharmed" when he finds him? He does if he is obedient to God's word, written and incarnate; and reflecting God's image. Could it be that the world finds no "good news" in our preaching because we treat the least of these, including our enemies, with the same spirit of revenge the world follows. We are fond of reciting a story to the unconvinced and asking them to repeat after me; with little effect. Maybe we should also practice the quote, "Preach the gospel always. Use words if necessary;" especially with our enemies. Might we then simply turn to see that many are following us as we follow Christ?