Loving Your Enemies



"But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." (Luke 6:20–28)

Have you ever thought about the disciples following Jesus and what that meant for them? In Luke 6:22, it says, "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the son of man!" As they were following Jesus, they realised how hard it would be, but they also learned how sweet the journey would be. The disciples were hated and were excluded because they chose to follow Jesus. As Christians, isn't that our story as well?

The message Jesus is teaching the disciples doesn't end at loving and praying for those who have hurt you. We live in a day and age where there are many opinions, and the tendency is to not have friendships with those who oppose us. These different opinions have led to many splits. However, we are called to love our enemies and those who oppose our opinions. We must fight for unity because our unity is in Christ, among those who have hurt us and those who may hold differing opinions. We pray for them and love them because even our enemies are made in the image of God.

Isn't it easy to love someone who loves us and agrees with us? The people that we would say are our "go-to" people, and they are the ones who come over and have dinner with us or the ones who come to the hospital to see one of your family members or check on you.

Then you have that person who wrongs you. The person who was rude to you or the person who frustrates you continually. We have all been hurt by someone before, and it's hard.

In this passage, Luke talks about a difficult topic to hear. Jesus says we are to love our enemies. Often, our heart becomes hardened to those people, and it ends up affecting not only our relationship with them but also the way they see Jesus in us. We are to love our enemies, and to love them means praying for them. Today, spend some time thinking about someone who has wronged you and pray that God would soften your heart towards that person.

LET US PRAY - Lord, soften our hearts toward others. Help us love as You love. In Jesus' name. Amen.


Location: Exmouth, Reino Unido

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