“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke
6:27-28)
In his sermon on the mount, Jesus makes it really clear that the commandment to love our neighbor really is without exception. Even if people treat us badly, if they take our belongings, curse us, or abuse us… we should still love them. That’s not to say we are never allowed to defend ourselves, or even that we should seek suffering. But we should not
retaliate.
As Christians, we should expect to meet hostility. As Jesus says in John 15:19: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you”. Jesus says this should not surprise us, since we are treated just as badly as our Lord and Savior was. And our reaction should also be the same as God’s: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful”. “He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35 and 36).
Do you know people who treat you badly? How do you react?