"Love Your Enemies"

Luke 6

Listen if you can," said Jesus. He knew His next words would be hard to understand. "I want you to love your enemies. Be good to those who treat you badly. If someone says mean words to you, say kind words to them. If someone slaps you on the cheek, turn and offer them your other cheek. And if someone takes your coat, offer them your shirt as well.

"Give what you can to those who ask. And if someone takes something of yours, don't demand it back. Always treat others the way you would like to be treated. It's easy to love those who love you, but you should also love those who treat you wrong. Because God the Father is loving and kind—and ready to forgive those who do wrong. And God will reward you for doing these things. And He will call you His very own child."

Loving Enemies and Passing Judgement

We all love our friends, but Jesus tells us to love our enemies too. How is that possible? It doesn't mean we approve of what our enemies may be doing. It does mean that we see all people as being imortant to God. Since all of us are created by God - including our enemies - we must treat everyone with respect and kindness. Showing that we care may be just what our enemies need in order for them to see God's love.

Jesus also tells us not to judge other people. We can't know everything about another person the way God does. Only God sees the heart. We see only a small part of another person's life. We can judge a person's specific behaviour, but we must not try to judge the hole person. That's God's job, not ours. Let's judge ourselves instead, examining the ereas of our lives that are not in line with God's commands.