Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” (Luke 6: 32)
In today’s New Testament passage, Luke 6 is filled with so many wonderful words of encouragement about Jesus’ compassion towards the sick and needy, his habit of praying and being connected to His Heavenly Father, the Beatitudes, loving our enemies, bearing good fruit, and having a solid foundation in God and His words to us. Last spring 2021, our church took five Sunday sermons to cover all of Luke 6.
For today’s boost of encouragement from God’s word, I want us to remember to follow God’s command to love radically. It’s something I struggle with, and I’m sure lots of Christians find this hard to do. I am always trying to teach my children to do this at school with their classmates who aren’t nice to them. In this verse, Jesus is reminding His followers that we need to be characterized by this radical love. We should be living our lives different from those characteristics of the world. It is easy to love others who love us. It is easy to be kind or show favor to those whom we find favor with. But what about our enemies? What about those who drain your energy, your wallet, and your time? How are we supposed to treat them?
Here are 4 ways to help us remember to practice and live out this radical love:
- Those who have been transformed by Jesus have a new life. We have something that others don’t have. We are renewed, repentant, and redeemed by Jesus Christ. Not only do we claim this, but it should be evident in our lives.
- We have a power that others do not have. Philippians 4:13 reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
- We have the Spirit of God dwelling within us. This reminds us that God is working in and through our lives to show this radical love.
- We have a better future than others do because our salvation through Jesus is secure and this frees to love others with reckless abandon and to love radically.
My prayer for you today is that you would remember Jesus’ radical love for you by dying on the cross for our sins and that you would know that God has given you Jesus which will allow you to love those who are difficult to love.