“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
(Luke 6:32-36 NIV)

Context is supreme. Whatever understanding we come to should snugly fit into the confines of context. Here, that means understanding the mandate of love extends even to enemies. It would be a mistake, however, to limit the scope to our adversaries. The command is to love all, without reserve, especially those who we don’t naturally love, even those who would harm us.

We won’t have to put the love of the enemy into practice as frequently as we’ll have to put the love of the “other” into practice. Who is the other? It’s anyone who we find it difficult to love, anyone who requires the kind of intentionality that feels inconvenient. Let’s be candid with ourselves. There are people who are inconvenient to love.

When my children were in elementary school, I would ask them, “Who is the hardest person in your class to love?” My goal was to get them comfortable with the uncomfortable work of love. I wanted for them the same thing that Jesus wants for us. That is, we break up with the small-minded, Disney-esque, morally bankrupt notion that love should be easy.

Prayer for the Week

Jesus, love wasn’t easy when you stepped out of heaven, humbling yourself to serve us. Love wasn’t easy when you were continually misunderstood. Love wasn’t easy when you endured mockery. And love wasn’t easy when you welcomed the nails into your flesh. May our hearts be melted by you and all of who we are transformed by you. Please give us the guts to honestly admit who we hesitate to love and who we resist loving so that we can align with you and enjoy the bonds of love with all people as you intend. We specifically ask that you mold our church into a gathering of people of all cultures who never tire of loving one another. Amen.