February 11 – Do Good To Them

February 11 – Do Good To Them

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36).

Jesus kept returning to those words, “Love Your Enemies.”  He knew exactly how difficult it was for his listeners to do that and he wanted to make sure they knew the importance of his words.

Each of these phrases, though are so far from any training we get in today’s society.  We don’t love our enemies. At the very least we ignore them, most of the time we go on the attack so they can’t get the better of us.

The last thing we might consider is doing good to or for our enemies.  They are our enemies for a reason and they don’t deserve anything good from us. They have their own friends who should be responsible for that. Right?

Then, Jesus knew exactly what to say to make it hurt the most: lend to them without expecting a return.  We might be able to say things like, “I love them, in Jesus’ name” and get away with it.  Our friends might think we’re being particularly holy that day.  But, when it comes to opening up the wallet and giving freely to those who are termed our enemies, we are caught by the truth of His demand.  This is no longer something we can blithely pass off as an easy task.

When Jesus came to earth and sacrificed His life, He didn't do it for you and me alone, He did it for that person who lied about our work, claiming it as their own. He did it for the person who spread malicious gossip. He did it for the person who held cloaks while their owners were stoning a Christian. He did it for the murderer you believe should be executed, the prostitute, the drug dealer, the man who stands there with a sign that proclaims God’s hatred for others.

He did it for you and me and those we think should find themselves in a special hell because they don’t live in a manner which meets with our approval.  Our enemies.  God loves them and sent His Son to die for them. Now, He calls on us to love them as well.  What will we do with that?