“But love your enemies, do good, and lend hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great…” – Luke 6:35
I can easily love my wife. She is precious to me. So are my kids. They have no problem getting and receiving my love. Others who treat me well? Same thing.
Let’s face it, some people are simply more like us – in appearance, in personality, in cultural heritage, in matters of faith, etc. We are attracted to this familiarity and sameness. It gives us comfort and calms us, knowing there are people who we can always rely on and identify with.
When we develop a natural, positive connection with our kind of people, showing love towards them is not difficult. It’s easier to act appropriately around them and demonstrate love to them because we see the world as they do. For our people, we would sacrifice much. If they were in need, we’d come to their aid without hoping for or expecting anything in return.
After all, not only do we like them and treat them well, they like us and treat us well. How could you not love someone like this?
I expect those in Jesus’ day felt much the same way. So it must have shocked their system when Jesus told them to “love your enemies” and show acts of love to those they considered unlovable. Can you imagine the expressions in the crowd when he said these words?
“You mean, love those people? They are not anything like me. Love your enemies? That’s even harder than loving those who are not like me. Why would I love those who hate me?”