[27] “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, [28] bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (Luke 6:27–28)
While these teachings of Jesus are difficult, today they provide Christians with an opportunity to bless our communities in impactful ways.
We live in a polarized society. Hard lines are drawn on ideological grounds, social issues and moral questions. As the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod we draw some of these hard lines. Compromising the historic faith is not an option for us.
That historic faith includes Jesus’ teaching on loving our enemies. This is our opportunity. Far too often those who stand on opposing sides of hard lines mock one another, demean one another, attack one another. Not so with us. We look at our enemies through the eyes of love. We demonstrate this share love buy praying, blessing and serving those who oppose us.
In this day and age, loving our enemies is a powerful way to demonstrate the love of Christ in tangible way. It can attract the attention of people who have written off Christianity as having no impact on their lives. It is a way to lift up and encourage one another as Christians.
I will not gloss over the challenge of loving our enemies or blessing those who curse us. Often it will be a case of being faithful to God even when we don’t feel like doing His will. We trust that God will give us the strength and fortitude to do so. What is undeniable is the potential loving our enemies has for blessing our communities.
(A Second Look devotions are written for the congregations of the Ohio District-LCMS.)
Kevin Wilson 360 