Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you-- Luke 6:27-28
If I were to ask you, who are your your enemies? Most of us would probably answer, we don't have any. That's because we think of enemies as someone who wants to harm us. When Jesus spoke these words, things were more black and white. The Jews hated the Samaritans. The Romans hated the Jews. When Jesus commanded us to love our enemies, the presumption is very clear. He would not have commanded us to love "our enemies" if did not have any. So, that commandment is still relevant to us today.
Our King, Jesus Christ, is simply calling on us to love even those who are hardest to love. And we know people like that. Who’s mistreated you? Who’s let you down? Who’s taken advantage of you? Maybe someone at work? A family member? A friend? A neighbor? Someone you barely know? “Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst” Luke 6:27-30 The Message.
The biggest hurdle to loving "our enemies" is that we believe that Scriptural love is a feeling and it is not. Biblical love is an action that is based on doing what is best for the other person! "Do good" is an action. "Bless them" = action. "Pray for" = action.
Do not wait to experience a certain emotion before you show love. Romans 12:20 You see, what Jesus is teaching us—what we must grasp and embrace—is that we don’t fight evil with yet more evil; we fight evil with good. Romans 12:21
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