Luke 6:35 – But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

The practice of loving your enemies is modeled by God Himself, as He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Jesus also notes that the reward will be great for the losses suffered while practicing this type of love. This kind of loving behavior is unmistakably Christian and marks out those who are the children of the Most High. Love is the way true believers present themselves to the world as children of God. Remember, He is kind to even the unthankful and the evil. When you act like that, you are manifesting the family likeness. Therefore, you are showing the world that you have been born of God. The only way you will be able to love your enemies is by realizing how much God loved on you when you were still His enemy. Realizing that His love for you is what brought you into His family, should motivate you to love others so they can become part of the heavenly family as well.

Challenge:

God rewards you for acting like Him and for displaying His love by caring for others. I can assure you, His rewards will be most generous, and in the end, you will be glad you made the sacrifices you did for Him. I challenge you this week to go out of your way to love on the people surrounding you as much as possible. Make a conscious effort to do good to those that you would normally avoid and walk away from. Over time, it is the small things that definitely go a long way, with someone who opposes you. Have you ever experienced saying “Good morning!” to someone, and they just look at you strangely? People these days are not used to strangers being nice to them. When motorcyclists pass each other on the road, they will always wave at each other. Why? Do they know each other? No. They wave because they have something in common, they like to ride motorcycles. Why don’t we have that same mentality when it comes to being human? You and I face similar struggles in this life, and we all experience emotional pain from time to time. Being kind to one another should come naturally, but it doesn’t. As a believer, you have the proper perspective of the fallen human condition. All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23) It is by His grace and His grace alone that you and I can stand. This week, love others, especially your enemies and expect nothing in return other than the rewards that God will give to you. God bless you.