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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).

Let\u2019s start with this question: When is the last time you loved an enemy? Or shall we go even deeper: Have you ever loved an enemy?

When you decided to follow Jesus, did anyone explain to you that this would mean loving people who hurt you? I wonder if, when people are preparing to join a church, they are encouraged to count the cost? Is there an expectation that being part of the body of Christ includes doing good to those opposed to Christians?

Let\u2019s keep asking questions. That person at work who really annoys you, gets under your skin several times a week, what have you done to love that person? Have you even prayed for them? That social media friend of yours who has taken the opposite view on COVID mandates, how have you been treating this person?

Am I putting this too strongly? I don\u2019t think so. Jesus has just said, \u201cIf you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them\u201d (6:32). He calls his followers to a higher ethic. Love can be very easy. We fall into love and out of love in the blink of an eye. It is easy to love people who have loved us.

But Jesus did not define love like that. For him, love is not a feeling, it is a deliberate choice we make. Love is an action that brings good into the world, especially in situations in which good is not deserved. Jesus is calling us to deliberately love people who have not earned it. God\u2019s love calls us to respond to evil actions not with judgement but with mercy and goodness.

Jesus expects us to act with glorious and absurd generosity. What is the best thing you can do for the worst person? Do it. What people are you tempted to be nasty towards? Lavish generosity on them! God\u2019s kingdom has a fresh, springlike quality. New life bursts out energetically, like flowers growing through concrete, drawing attention with their colour and vigour.

Imagine living in a society where people believed in this God. Would there be violence? Revenge would be replaced with forgiveness. Divisions of class or caste would disappear. We would be more concerned with our neighbour\u2019s wellbeing than hanging onto our property and possessions. Imagine if we took Jesus seriously and lived like that. Life would be exuberant, different, astonishing. People would stare.

But you say, \u201cI cannot love that way.\u201d Of course, you can\u2019t. It\u2019s humanly impossible. But we are Christians. Jesus has given us his Holy Spirit to overcome our human deficiencies. By the power of Christ in us, through the Spirit, we become able to love like Jesus.

We can be sure of this because God has loved us like that. While we were still his enemies, Jesus died for us. God\u2019s love towards us is extravagant, extraordinary, totally underserved. Love does not originate from us. We receive it first, then give it away. When we have trouble giving it, we need to go back to the beginning of our Christian life. We need to receive from God. We start by asking him to help us.

Jesus wants us to imitate him. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. The world may misunderstand us and shun us and laugh at us, but that does not allow us to be insensitive or to harbor misunderstanding towards them.

Its time for Christians to follow their Lord.