There is wonderful simplicity in Jesus’ summation of keeping the law. Love God and love one another. When we do this we don’t even need to worry about keeping the law!  However… although this is wonderfully simple it’s not practically simple.  Jesus’ command to love one another involves loving your neighbor and ultimately… loving your enemy.  This kind of love is not simple at all!  It’s messy, it’s controversial, it’s backwards, it’s risky and possibly reaps no benefit to us.  It might be simple to understand, but gospel love is crazy to live.

In the book of Luke, chapter 6, Jesus says love your enemy but what is frustrating is that Jesus clearly explains who the enemy is.  The enemy is someone who hates you, someone who lets you know how much they hate you, and someone who might even make you feel how much they hate you.  Jesus says to love those people.  Jesus personally experienced that kind of hate and still loved those who were hating him.

Why is it frustrating that Jesus explains who the enemy is?  Because of how clear he paints the picture and how high he sets the bar.  If we are to love the people who hate us, as He describes, then why is it so challenging for us to love those who have done NOTHING to us?  We have a hard time loving people who actually don’t hate us at all.  They might believe something different than us, vote different than us, look different than us… they might be people we just don’t LIKE that much.  The problem is those people aren’t even our enemy!  Jesus doesn’t even address those people in Luke 6 – like it’s a given, of course love them!  Followers of Jesus must choose love as a first priority in every situation, in every relationship, and with EVERY person.  Yes, love the person who hates you, but don’t forget about loving the person you don’t like!

Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who hate you.” John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”