Right now in your mind list your friends. You will think of the friends you have in your church and at work. You will think of some of the people you went to school with that you might still keep in touch with. Then perhaps some people in your neighborhood who you are friends with. These are people who you would invite to your backyard party, send a birthday present to, and would gladly do a favor for. You are concerned if something happens to them or their family. Now think of those who you consider your enemies. Hopefully that is a shorter list. But there are the people at work who undermine everything you do. The person who has spread nasty lies about you. The neighbor who consistently takes your parking spot that you just shoveled out from the snowstorm. We certainly wouldn’t want to invite them to our parties. We might be inclined to do back to them what they did to us, and perhaps even gloat when we hear that something bad happened to them or their family. How does the Lord wish for us to treat those we consider our enemies? As we look into our Scripture passage from the Gospel of Luke we see how Jesus said we should act towards those we think of as our enemies.
In our very first verse, we read that Jesus tells us to love our enemies (vs. 27). Love them?! Sometimes we find it hard not to actively hate them. Jesus, though, tells us that He wants His children to love them, and to do good things to and for them. With how we naturally feel towards them, loving our enemies takes an act of the will. It takes conscious effort. Loving our enemies means acting in their best interests, thinking of ways to help them, and praying for them (vs. 28). When we hear that something happened to them, we pray for them, and we pray that our enemies will see God’s way.
In verse 29 we read about “turning the other cheek” to our enemy. I believe this is to serve as a principle, not to be done literally, where we ask for more mistreatment from others. When Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin shortly before being crucified, one of the men there struck Him in the face. Jesus did not offer Himself to be struck again, but rather rebuked that man (John 18:22-23). However, He did not hit the man back, or strike him down. The principle is that one should not seek retaliation for anything someone does against them.
Jesus then continues to tell us that even the sinners of the world will love and treat those who are good to them well. He tells us that being good to our friends is nothing special (vs. 32-34). God loved us when we were unlovable (Romans 5:8). Jesus wants us to do the same.
The love that Jesus is talking about here, the love that we are to show to our enemies, requires action, not just trying to tone down the angry feelings we harbor inside of us. We are to actively show them the love of God (vs. 35). We are to take the initiative to meet specific needs they may have. This is easier to do for those we love, but Jesus wants us to do this for everyone, even our enemies.
God has been merciful and forgiving to us, and we are to show the same mercy and forgiveness to others (vs 36-37). Everything we do is to be based on what He has done for us. God has called us to forgive, no matter the circumstances, even if they don’t deserve it. We need to show mercy to those who don’t deserve it, either. If I want mercy for myself, I had better be a dispenser of mercy to everyone I meet, as well.
When we do so, Jesus tells us that we will be like our Heavenly Father. Believers should show a family resemblance to God. We should be kind and merciful, even to the ungrateful and wicked. However, God wants us to show wisdom, and not put ourselves in a position to be abused (Matthew 10:16). God’s children should bear the indelible stamp of His moral character. Since He is loving, gracious, and generous, even to those who are His enemies, we should be like Him.
What Jesus taught here, He also practiced at great cost to Himself. When we follow the example that Jesus gave us, He promises us in verse 38 that He will repay, and will repay abundantly. Today, let’s act as Jesus would, showing a family resemblance.
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