“Love Your Enemies”
Luke 6:27-36
A sermon for 5/16/21
Pastor John Bright
Luke 6 “27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 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. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
It’s providential that this passage on the awesome extent of our love for others will fall on Ascension Sunday. I have been studying a new book lately on that part of the Creeds – “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father.” The name of the book is “The Unseen Real: Life in the Light of the Ascension of Jesus” and it was written by Dr. Stephen Seamands. Let me run something past you – in the Gospel of John, Jesus spoke to his disciples in the Upper Room and explained that they were to be part of him – John 15:5 “5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” If we are not in Christ and Christ is not in us – we do nothing for God – no fruit – no nothing. We want to make sure that does not happen… right?
There is an interesting verse Ephesians chapter 2 that tells us we are seated with Christ this morning – in heaven, no less. I would imagine that everyone here thought you were seated in a church pew or the seat of your car. Let me read a few verses to you – Ephesians 2: “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” WE HAVE AN AWESOME CONNTECTION WITH THE ASCENDED JESUS – WE ARE PART OF HIM AND HE IS PART OF US – OF ALL BELIEVERS!
That’s a lot to throw at you first thing on a Sunday morning, but I need you to accept this as the truth even if it stills feels like you are sitting here like every other Sunday. That way, I can take you somewhere you may have never been before. How in the world can I do that when you have always heard these verses from Luke 6 (also found Matthew 5) so many times? We know it’s not the same today. They lived in a day without the insults of social media and everyone wanting something from you all the time – even the local church!
Here’s what we don’t understand – the Savior hanging on a cross – executed not for what He had done, but rather for my sin and your sin. (Sit with that.) The Spotless Lamb had every reason to resent what was happening and hate those who were doing it – so what did He say? “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) He’s the one that tells us to LOVE, DO GOOD TO, BLESS and PRAY FOR – the church? No. Our families? No. Our friends? No.
Who then? The haters from last week. The enemies of God’s Word. Those who say terrible things about you and your family. Even the ones who act out of pure spite – the worst of motives – to do harm to you. If we are connected to the Vine – the Ascended Jesus – and if our identity as Believers is with Christ in Heaven – we can love as Jesus loves.
I am going to skip right past cheek slapping and giving someone the shirt off you back and lending something that never comes back (btw – right here and now I declare that all the books I have lent out in over 25 years of ministry now belong to the folks that never gave them back to me😊). I have to get to the heart of the matter – LOVE – AGAPE. If you have spent more than a couple of years in a church pew, you don’t need me to tell you that there are 4 Greek words that get translated as love – “eros” “storge” “philio” and “agape”. Agape is the unconditional love that God has for us – that’s how we describe it all the time. While I have served as your pastor, I have told you over and over – God is CRAZY in love with you – He loves you soooo much the He wants only the best for you. That’s what He has revealed in His Holy Word – the best for you!
Now, let’s translate that to how you are commanded to love those folks that you don’t ever plan to let in your house ever again. If he or she called or texted to ask for help – no answer – delete the text. It’s a demand to love a neighbor that can’t stand you because you voted for the other party or a family member that you stopped talking to years ago or a co-worker that is the consummate know-it-all. What shall we do?
First – stop, drop and pray
If you are like me, you have already brought that person to God in prayer – something like this: “Lord, I pray for You to get ahold of (____fill in the blank____) and change (him/her). In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Sound familiar?
We pray for God to change our spouses and our bosses. We pray for God to make the kids and the in-laws easier to deal with for our sanity. We pray for God for to make the pastor mind his own business!
Let’s put away all those old familiar prayers and begin to pray for God to bless the enemy. When we do that, we want the best for the enemy – the same best for the ones we love the most. What do I pray for the ones I love – heath and wholeness, peace and joy, provision and grace – to receive all the promises of God – every last one. Those are easy to pray for my loved ones – not so easy for those I would call a thorn in my side. The one who complains… about everything at church. The former church member that worked so hard to get me moved out of THEIR church. There are some prayers that change others and then, there are prayers that change us. Praying for your enemies changes something deep within you. Wanting the best for those who want the worst for you allows a pathway within you to be opened up
That pathway is where love flows
I’m not talking about the love we have that is a feeling. That feeling of love is necessary for us to have marriages and not kill the kids before they can leave the nest.
I’m talking about love that is a real, tangible – like candy! Since you are watching on video (or reading this at home), you will have to imagine I have a big bag of Hershey Kisses right here. I have LOTS OF CANDY! So - I can claim to be full of candy. What if this candy is the love we have to give our enemies? I can have lots of candy – be full of candy and I can have lots of love – be full of love, yet I may not be loving. See, I can have all this sweet candy and never give any of it away. Love works the same way.
I can give you a little candy – one piece – if you are on my “naughty list” and I can still feel pretty good about myself. If you are my family or friend, I would probably give you more than one piece of candy. In fact, I want to give you enough to share (maybe even give some back to me😊). See how that works? Now if I gave someone a piece and they see me giving others many pieces - what will they be thinking? Love works the same way. An abundance of love needs to flow through us to others – even our enemies.
Consider this classic example of two bodies of water in Israel - If you compare the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee, you will see great differences. The Dead Sea is so full of minerals and deposits all life is completely snuffed out. No fish, plants or anything else. However, the Sea of Galilee is thriving with life. What is the difference? There are many channels of water feeding into the Dead Sea, yet there is no channels flowing out. It keeps it all to itself. Yet, the Sea of Galilee is not only receiving water from rivers and creeks, it is also releasing water out to other places. There is life and activity in the Sea of Galilee because as it takes in - it also gives away.
(https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/9218/giving-yourself-by-tony-klinedinst)
Would you be surprised if I told you that I can hear what some of you are thinking? “Hey PJ, I know I am supposed to love that person, but you don’t understand how they treated me.”
If loving them is hard – start with forgiveness
31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 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. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
Jesus drives home the point of our need to give love by mentioning the Golden Rule. When my kids were little and having trouble with their brother or sister, I liked to mention that Golden rule – “Treat them the way you want them to treat you.” The oldest child always seemed to be willing to twist that around. I would ask, “Why did you hit back when the little one hit you?” Bet you already know what they said – “I thought they wanted to be treated the way they were treating me.”
This teaching from Jesus ends with a comparison to our view of those who have mistreated us (get what they deserve) and God’s view – “For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
Being merciful to those we see as unthankful and evil is the most loving and kind thing we can do. I know this because being merciful to you and me is the most loving and kind thing God ever did – He saved you and me. He washed us in the precious blood of the Lamb. Why? Because we deserve that love and kindness? Nope! Mercy is NOT getting what I deserve. God wants the best for you and me and we can want the best for others – even the ones we struggle to love. Silly example – ever have someone fly past you on the road and you think, “I hope there’s a cop up there”? If you got a mile or two up the road and saw them pulled over, would you be happy inside with a secret satisfaction that they got what they deserved? I know this is a silly example… but could we begin practicing mercy in our cars? Same scenario – the car flies past you and you think, “God – protect that driver and the passengers – keep them safe. Amen.” That’s wanting the best for them. That’s praying to God for them not to get what they deserve – but to get what they need.
Over time, I have seen the same idea here and there: “Love is the currency of God’s Kingdom.” That makes sense. Jesus is telling us here in Luke 6 and in The Sermon on the Mount that love is more than a feeling – it is evidenced in our actions. It’s real. It’s tangible. I can’t hold it in my hand like a Hershey’s Kiss, but I can see it at work in a community or in a home. I can’t eat it like a piece of candy, but I can see folks every day that seem to be starving for love and those folks will do anything and everything to make that gnawing hunger go away.
What’s our response? Maybe you need to stop, drop and pray so that God can do a work in you. Maybe you need to make sure you are full of love (not candy) and becoming more loving by giving it away – to everybody. Maybe you need to do the hard work of forgiveness (make a list and everyday say this – “I choose to forgive ____(name)______ for __(what she/he did to me)____. Amen.) How long? You do that until the love flows to that person and you can be merciful – praying for them to get what’s best rather than what they deserve.
Every Sunday we pray – “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” God’s will in heaven is for His people to be loving, kind, and merciful. So, that must be His will for the folks that claim the name of the Son – here on earth. May His will be seen in us this day and every day. Amen.
