But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:35-36 NET
Showing love to friends and family, to those who love me back, is easy to do. But loving my enemies is much more challenging. In fact, it is not something I want to do. While I might not actively wish them harm, I generally want nothing to do with them.
But Jesus is not content with his disciples just loving those who love them back. He challenges us to love our enemies as well. This love we are to have for our enemies is not just an emotional love, having warm, cuddly feelings for them. Instead, it is an active love, working for their good.
Why should I love my enemies? Because it is what God does. He loved the world, even when we were in rebellion against him, so much that he gave his Son to die for us (John 3:16).
Loving my enemies is not easy. They may take advantage of me. I may suffer because of it. But, Jesus tells us, our reward will be great. There may be no discernable reward in this life. But the suffering we might experience in this life is nothing compared to the glory that awaits us (Rom. 8:18).
Jesus concludes this passage by telling us to be merciful, just like our Father is merciful. To be merciful is to show mercy—to treat people with kindness and forgiveness.
So be kind to everyone, even those who don’t deserve it. And forgive those who hurt us. It is not easy. But it is what we are expected to do in imitation of our heavenly Father.
