We more naturally feel love for those who are our family and for those who love us in return, but does that make us loving people? And if the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself, do we fulfill that command simply by loving those who love us in return? Jesus’ words in Luke 6 clearly show us that much more is required of us if we would love others the way God would have us to love. As Jesus explains in these verses, we are called to practice a higher form of love than just loving those whom it is easy to love. Listen to Jesus’s words in Luke 6, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (…) If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. (…) But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:27–36).
In contrast to merely loving those who love us in return or those for whom we have some natural familial affection, Jesus challenges us to love in a much more radical way. He challenges us to love not for what we can get in return, but to selflessly love in a way that reflects God’s merciful and gracious character to the world around us. Whether your ‘enemy’ is someone who actively seeks your harm or just someone who goes out of their way to deliberately annoy you at work, we are called to genuinely love and seek the best interests of everyone, even those whom it is hard to love.
Jesus, of course, is the perfect example of this. In his humanity during his earthly ministry, he showed us what it looks like to love our enemies. Even from the cross, he prayed for the forgiveness of the men who were taking his life. Not only did Jesus love those men who were physically crucifying him, but he even loved you and me while we were God’s enemies. Romans 5:10 declares, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” Who can possibly follow in Jesus’ footsteps and love in this way? The answer: only those who have known the perfect love of God in Christ Jesus. Only when we have received and experienced his love can we be free to love others—even enemies—like Christ loves us.