Luke 6:35 Love Your Enemies
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living. True Christian living requires us to live according to Kingdom standards which bring Heaven to earth

By Marni Montanez

Luke 6:35 International Standard Version

35. Instead, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind even to ungrateful and evil people.

Love is the Christian’s identifier.  When we show love in the most difficult times in our life; especially toward someone whom we think doesn’t deserve it,  We are being the exact representation of God’s heart. It is in this way we allow the Holy Spirit to move through us and touch lives.   This kind of power is released only through our obedience.  In this verse, Jesus is giving us instruction that will glorify God and reveal God to the world.  Love is not a thought or a feeling.  We cannot conjure feelings of love; although at times it does produce a euphoria that is more about what our senses are reacting to than it is the true display of love.   

The world says to get revenge; it promotes hatred and the enemy convinces us that we are justified in being angry and not forgiving or accepting of others.   Our insecurities and fears open doors that invites the attitude of entitlement so that even though God has made it clear that we are to love and do good,  we choose to abandon God’s command and live as the world or Satan is directing us.   

God promises that our obedience in love will produce a great reward for us and we will be given the right to be called children of God (the Most High).  Children obey their parents and it should be thought of as an honor to serve and obey God. 

God is always faithful and His faithfulness shines the light on our unfaithfulness.  We want our own way, because it’s easier then to deny our carnal desires, but it will always lead us down the wrong path.  

When Jesus walked the earth He not only walked in love but He walked as love.  He was fully God and fully human;  He got upset and He felt those feelings and emotions, but He did not retaliate.

1 Peter 2:23 Tree of Life Version   

23.When He was abused, He did not return the abuse. While suffering, He made no threats. Instead, He kept entrusting Himself to the One who judges righteously.

God is kind to everyone because that is His nature and it must be our nature as children of God. 

Matthew 5:44-45 New International Version

44. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45. that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous

Challenge:  He does not call us to decide who the unlovables are because according to God, we have all been there.   Our job is to love others regardless of who they are or what they have done.  Every situation where we feel there has been an injustice, must be brought before the Lord and left in His righteous judgement. He knows what needs to happen more than we ever will and He will always do the best thing.  

God bless 

Marni

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The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.