vv 27-28 But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.
Luke thought it was important to record this part of Jesus’ sermon too. It is so fundamental to the Christian lifestyle that it simply must not be ignored.
Now, you have read a great deal on this particular theme this week; the question however is ‘What have you done about it?’ Let me suggest several lines of action:
1. Have you at any time recently experienced thoughts of retaliation or getting your own back? Reflect on why that happened, and then deliberately ask God for forgiveness. Ask yourself too how it might have been avoided.
2. Is there any person you find it difficult, or even impossible, to forgive? Sometimes hurts of this kind take us back years and have stained our memory, lingering in our thoughts. Can you talk about it with someone you really trust so that you pray about it together with a view to forgiving the person either face-to-face or in the quietness of your own heart?
3. Where relationships are difficult, or plainly fraught, take the initiative to bless the other person in some way. It is more than just praying about it, some positive action might be called for; a letter, a phone call, a visit, something that will say you care and genuinely love that person.
May God bless you with His peace as you do any of these things.
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