“But I say to you who hear, 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

Whether it is the difficult next-door neighbor or the person who shares your bed, truly loving can be difficult, but that is what we are called to do.

In Gary Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages, he relates an encounter with a woman who asked him the following question – “Is it possible to love someone you hate?” Chapman referred the young lady to the verses above. 

Jesus knew what it meant to love His enemies long before he was nailed to the cross. Actually, each and every one of us was His enemy before He saved us from ourselves. He selflessly loved us when we were unlovable. Romans 5:8 reminds us that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. “

The truth is that learning to love our neighbors requires a similar sacrifice on our part. We have to put the other person first. Loving them when we don’t feel like it. Loving them and treating them in such a way “as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them”

Luke 6:31

Chapman went on the challenge the wife to put into practice her love for her husband, expecting nothing in return. She was only to apply the principles of the Golden Rule in the way she treated her husband.

That’s the point of Jesus’ statement in the opening verses above. Saying you love your enemies is one thing, expressing your love for others is something completely different, isn’t it?