“Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great.”
Luke 6:35 NIV
These words, spoken by Jesus, are some of the hardest words we have to consider. Love our enemies? Really?
The thought of loving those who do us harm just doesn’t sit right. The thought of giving kindness in return for malicious intent makes no sense and causes our stomachs to knot up, our shoulders to tighten. Love our enemies? Please, God, no.
Isn’t it enough to avoid our enemies and do them no harm?
Sometimes. Maybe. But most of the time, God calls us to a love so brave, so intense that it defies logic and turns the world on its side. He calls us to love like He loves.
That means we must show patience where others have been short. We must show kindness where others have been cruel. We must look for ways to bless, when others have cursed.
Something about that just doesn’t feel right to our human hearts.
But God promises great rewards for those who do this. Oh, the rewards may not be immediate. But when God promises great rewards, we can know without doubt that any present struggle will be repaid with goodness and blessing, many times over.
Dear Father, help me to love those who hate me, bless those who curse me, and show kindness to those who have been cruel. Help me to love like You love. Amen.
Recommended Resource:
If you liked today’s reading, we recommend the newest edition of Daily Wisdom for Women Devotional Collection. CLICK HERE to learn more.
Related Readings:
CLICK HERE to discover more readings about loving others.
Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2014 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Renae Brumbaugh Green.
So does this mean forgiving them
Yes! That is a big part of it. And also going a step further and showing them love.