Scripture: Luke 6:27-30
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.
Thought for the Day: As I read and read again these words, Jesus finds ways of keeping me honest. Love your enemies – it’s easy to say, “I love my enemies.” Anyone can say it, but Jesus follows those words with the declaration that we are to do good to those who hate us. Did you notice the word do. It is a bit more difficult to fake the do. Then we are told to pray for those who mistreat us. I can tell mean people that I’ve been praying for them – maybe praying for their demise, but praying nonetheless. But again, Jesus follows it with something rather difficult to fake or twist to our own liking. He demands that we do…and it is more than one act of doing. And each one of them is visible and demanding. It is one thing to speak of loving our enemies and praying for those who do not treat us well. It is a whole different ballgame to actually combine that love and those prayers into actions of grace toward those who wish to do us harm. Most of us who are trying to follow Jesus spend a lot of life trying to figure out how to actually do these radical acts that embody the values of God’s kingdom.
Prayer: O Lord, have mercy upon me as I struggle and strive and struggle some more to do what it is that you ask me to do. I’d rather spend my time telling nice people about your love, but you want me to do what will reveal this love, and to do so among those who may not respond well. Lord, have mercy upon me. Amen.
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