Luke
6:35 (NIV)
35But 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 sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Note: "kind"
is translated "easy" in Matthew 11:30: "For My yoke is easy and My burden is
light."
Compare this passage with the Old Testament precedent for it in
Leviticus 25:35-38: "If one of your
brethren become poor, and falls in to poverty among you, then you shall help
him, like a stranger of a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear
your God, that your brother may live with you.
You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a
profit. I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be
your God."
I find that loving my enemies does not come naturally, in
fact I have a hard time even thinking about how I would do this. I would greatly prefer to simply avoid such
people and have nothing to do with them.
Considering the context, we know that the Empire of Rome ruled over
Israel at the time, so people probably couldn't avoid people who were
troublesome, which makes this even worse for me. While I know that the words of our Lord do
not mean to be a "doormat" or never stand up for your rights, I
understand Him to mean that when justice is denied us, such as those who are
persecuted, we are not allowed to stoop to vengeance. We are to demonstrate love to all whether they deserve it or not, but I struggle with that.
Perhaps my first step in responding to
this passage is to meditate on the last phrase of verse 35, "for He is
kind to the unthankful and evil."
Our heavenly Father is kind to people who show no gratitude in return. I don't think I've ever really pondered that
before. What does it mean to serve a God
who kindly provides for people who hate Him and take Him for granted?
