Luke 6:27-36
Love for Our Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 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. 35 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. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
We learn much about forgiveness through Jesus' Teachings...Jesus regularly went around forgiving others...Who in the routine of their day, goes around forgiving others?...Who does that?...And when one thinks about this, one might use this argument that Jesus is Divine, because how many men or women do you know that commonly tells people they are forgiven...And He does it without mentioning their sin, most of the time, or who they have sinned against...I do not know one man or woman who does that...Jesus' message is one of unconditional love, grace, and acceptance, regardless of our past mistakes...He does not dwell on specific sins, Jesus emphasizes the possibility of redemption and new beginnings for everyone...This is His LOVING, Graceful, Inclusive Gospel...
Jesus said these different things at different times in His Ministry about forgiving others...When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins...For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you...But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins...Do not judge, and you will not be judged...Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned...Forgive, and you will be forgiven...
Jesus forgave the woman taken in adultery, though she had broken His law...Jesus forgave the Jews who called for His death, and He also forgave the Romans who nailed Him to the cross...Jesus forgave the chief priests, elders, and crowd members who shouted for His death, placing responsibility on their heads...Jesus forgave those who were killing Him on the Cross...When Jesus was teaching one day four men lower a paralyzed man down to Him through a hole in the roof...Jesus says, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."...Jesus forgave a woman who anointed His feet...One day Peter came to Jesus and asked, "LORD, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?...Up to seven times?"...Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."...The Repentant Thief who was being crucified, Jesus forgave Him and took him too Paradise with Him that day...This story of the Repentant Thief is a source of inspiration for Jesus' followers throughout the centuries...This thief is can be seen as a symbol of hope and a reminder that even in our darkest moments, God's Grace is always there and available...
But the most radical and contradicting of the way we think or I think, is Jesus' comments on loving of enemies...When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, it is a call and a command to forgive one's enemies...This is one of the most radical and toughest teachings of Jesus...It challenges our natural thinking and ideas of what an enemy is...It is natural to want to repay and evil enemy with evil, and instead He calls us to respond with love and compassion towards them...This teaching has been influential for two thousand years...This teaching is still inspiring people, who believe and follow Him...We are to seek reconciliation and peace in the midst of conflict of those we call our enemies...
Jesus has forever tied God and man together, when He teaches us to love God and to love neighbor in His Two Greatest Commandments teaching...And when we think about it how will the world ever have harmony without love?...I believe this Teaching of Loving Your Enemies is also a Divine Teaching and shows His Divinity...