Seventy Miles for an Enemy

What would you do if your worst enemy was about to die?

Would you care?
Would you intervene?
Would you walk seventy miles to save him?

The late evangelical leader Stephen F. Olford once told the story of Peter Miller, a Baptist preacher during the American Revolution. Miller lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and was a close friend of General George Washington.

In that same town lived a man named Michael Wittman—a bitter troublemaker who did everything he could to oppose and humiliate Miller.

One day, Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to death.

When Miller heard the news, he set out on foot for Philadelphia. Seventy miles. Not to see a friend—but to save an enemy.

Arriving there, he pleaded with General Washington for Wittman’s life.

“No, Peter,” Washington replied. “I cannot grant you the life of your friend.”

“My friend?” Miller exclaimed. “He is not my friend. He is my worst enemy.”

“What?” Washington responded. “You’ve walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in a different light.”

And he granted the pardon.

When Miller and Wittman returned to Ephrata, they were no longer enemies—but friends.

That story sounds remarkable—almost unbelievable.

But it is exactly the kind of love Jesus commanded.

In Matthew 5:43–48, Jesus said:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? … You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

As we think about our theme—Love More, Give More—this may be the most difficult command in all of Scripture.

Paul Earnhart called it the “unthinkable commandment.” It cuts deeply into human pride and exposes how far God’s righteousness rises above our natural instincts.

And nowhere is that more evident than in our world today.

We live in a culture that demonizes opponents and thrives on outrage. People are labeled, slandered, and dismissed with ease. It’s not just happening “out there.” It happens in our communities, our churches, and sometimes even in our own hearts.

Can you imagine a Christian saying, “I hate my enemies”?

Maybe we don’t say it out loud.
But do we feel it?

Jesus calls us to something radically different.

The road to removing hate from the heart begins by embracing the spirit of Christ and learning to see others—even enemies—through His eyes.

Then we begin to practice what He preached:

• Pray for them.
• Speak well of them.
• Do good to them.
• Look for ways to serve them.
• Refuse to limit love to those who love you.
• Learn to love as God loves.

This kind of love does not come naturally.

It isn’t easy.
It isn’t automatic.
It isn’t casual.

It takes intention.
It requires growth.
It demands transformation.

As Martin Luther observed,
“This life… is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness… not health, but healing… not being, but becoming.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us,
“The love of God for the most wretched sinner is as great as for the most righteous.”

And Frederick Buechner adds,
“To love your enemy is to see him as he is known to God.”

Loving our enemies is not natural—it’s supernatural.

It may be the clearest evidence that we truly belong to the Father who “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good.”

And it is still true, as Martin Luther King Jr. famously said:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman