Do I Have To?

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 children 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 NIV

Boy isn't this the hardest thing to do? How can you possibly have mercy on those who would do you harm? Who want to see you fail? Who laugh at your misfortune? Or worse...pretend to like you then spread lies about you. Be merciful? Love them? Come on. Jesus cannot be serious.

Oh but he is. What makes it harder still is that when we actually accomplish this type of heroic feat, we expect worldly rewards. But read again what he says about that: you will be children of the most high. That's your reward. To be a child of God. This means your reward is eternity with him if you truly have him in your heart.

We will all live to see someone reap a reward they didn't earn while we struggle and get no where. Our hope lies not in earthly goods or comforts but in knowing our eternity is secure. We have hope for a future they won't have unless they change. We do not fear physical defeat or death yet they live and die by the sword.

Our best answer is to heed Jesus' words and to pray for those who persecute us. For in doing so he fills our hearts with love for them that goes beyond human capacity for understanding.