Listen

“But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them.”

Luke 6:27-30

Think

We’ve all seen “love is love” signs, esteeming the expansiveness of love. You may even have a teacher who displays such signs in their classroom. But what if you walked into school tomorrow and saw people wearing “love your enemies” t-shirts? The messaging is striking, countercultural, and perceived as weakness. The messaging is also biblical, a gospel ethic, and the words of Jesus.

Loving our neighbors is already a challenge, but to love our enemies, too? Defeat our enemies is more like it. Or how about punish our enemies? To love our enemies sounds unrealistic, even foolish. And yet, Jesus instructs his followers to defy what is expected and logical, to stand out for love, to pray for those who hurt us.

I wonder if we might try this together today. Imagine the slight change when we experiment with doing good towards those who don’t deserve it, to even pray for them before we start our day.

I don’t know if your enemy will change. But I do trust there will be some change within you. It’s worth trying for the sake of holy love.

Aram Feinberg

Question to Ponder:

Why is loving our enemies perceived as a weakness?

Pray

God of Love, help me to try something different this day and the days to come.

By the power of your Holy Spirit, guide my words and actions so that I might pray for those I have labeled as my enemies.

Replace the anger and hate with forgiveness and your love.

Amen.

Go

May God the Creator bless you and keep you safe today.

May Jesus the Christ smile upon you and be gracious towards you.

May the Spirit of Love lead you along the path of wisdom and truth.

And all of God’s people say — Amen.